Bülent Hass Dellal was a director and chairman of the

Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...

(SBS) in Australia before stepping down on 2 June 2020.

Life and career

Dellal was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, to

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,00 ...

parents,. and is the eldest of three children.. His great-grandfather was the last Ottoman

mufti A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important rol ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. Dellal's early childhood was spent in Glenroy, where he attended primary school. Dellal spent his after-school hours and weekends helping his father, Hasan, with the general store they owned in Glenroy. His father devoted his spare time towards assisting Turkish Cypriot immigrants who settled in Australia and helped form the Cyprus Turkish Association. He also founded the Cyprus Turkish Islamic Society, and was responsible for managing the construction of the Sunshine Mosque. Although Turkish culture was a strong presence within his household, Dellal and his siblings found it difficult to speak the language, preferring instead to speak in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. His father decided to move the family to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, so that the children would gain a stronger sense of their culture.. In 1962, at the age of 10, Dellal's family sold their assets and moved to

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

, Turkey but returned to Australia in 1965, where he spent his secondary school years.. Dellal studied at Merrilands Secondary College and then at the Melba Conservatory in Richmond. Once he finished his studies, he became a teacher at a Catholic girls' college. In 1989, Dellal became the founding executive of the Australian Multicultural Foundation (AMF). His efforts were recognised in 1997 when he was awarded the Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

for his support of multicultural affairs, the arts and the community. In 2003 he was awarded the

Centenary of Federation Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

for his contribution to Australian society..

Awards

*1997: Medal of the

*2003:

References

Bibliography

*. *. Living people Australian businesspeople Australian people of Turkish Cypriot descent Board members of the Special Broadcasting Service Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal Year of birth missing (living people) {{Australia-bio-stub