Elif Sözen-Kohl (born 1969 in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

) a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

-born banker who resides in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. She is married to

Peter Kohl Peter Kohl (born 28 August 1965) is a German businessman and author, who resides in Switzerland. He is the younger son of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Hannelore Kohl, and brother of Walter Kohl. He grew up at the family home in Lu ...

and was the daughter-in-law of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Elif Sözen is the daughter of a wealthy industrialist from Istanbul, Kemal Sözen, the head of the metal company Kale Kalip Makina Sanayii. She received a B.Sc. in mathematics from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

and an M.Sc. in finance from the London Business School. Following her studies she worked on international macroeconomic policy making at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany. In the early 1990s, she was part of Harvard economist Jeffrey Sachs' team in Moscow which advised the Russian Government on its transition to a market economy following the fall of the Soviet Union. She worked at

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...

' debt capital markets group in

from 1993 to 1995 and as a vice president with JP Morgan in London from 1996 to 2000. In 2003, she was asked to become an advisor to the Turkish Treasury by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

. She later became chief investment officer and a director of Eagle Advisors in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Salzburg Global Seminar. While attending MIT, she met Peter Kohl. They married in May 2001, after living together for over ten years. Their relationship and later marriage received much international media attention. Reflecting the multicultural nature of the event, the celebration in

lasted three days and three marriage ceremonies were involved: a Catholic marriage, an

Islamic marriage In Islam, nikah is a contract between two people. Both the groom and the bride are to consent to the marriage of their own free wills. A formal, binding contract – verbal or on paper – is considered integral to a religiously valid Islamic ...

and a

civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religion, religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Every country maintai ...

. They have a daughter, Leyla, born in 2002.Enkeltochter heißt Leyla – 'Hürriyet': Helmut Kohl ist Großvater
" '' Rheinische Post'', 12 March 2002

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sozen-Kohl, Elif Turkish bankers Kohl family 1969 births Living people