Lütfi Doğan (1927–2018) was a Turkish academic, theologian and politician. He was the director of the Directorate of Religious Affairs from 1972 to 1976. Then he joined the
Republican People's Party
The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...
(CHP) and became minister of state in the cabinet led by
Bülent Ecevit
Mustafa Bülent Ecevit (; 28 May 1925 – 5 November 2006) was a Turkish politician, statesman, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of Turkey four times between 1974 and 2002. He served as prime minister in 197 ...
in 1977.
Early life and education
He was born in
Ermenek
Ermenek is a town in Karaman Province in the Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean region of Turkey. It is the seat of Ermenek District.
,
Karaman
Karaman is a city in south central Turkey, located in Central Anatolia, north of the Taurus Mountains, about south of Konya. It is the seat of Karaman Province and Karaman District.School of Language and History – Geography,
Ankara University
Ankara University () is a public university, public research university in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the History of the Republic of Turkey, formation of the Turkish republ ...
, where he obtained a degree in Arabic and Persian languages. Then he studied Arabic language and Islamic sciences at
Damascus University
Damascus University () is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus, with campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 as the Syrian University () through the merger of the Faculty of Medicine of Dama ...
, Syria. He received his Ph.D. from the School of Divinity at Ankara University.
Career and activities
Following his graduation Doğan joined the School of Divinity at Ankara University as a research assistant.
After serving as a regional preacher and provincial
mufti
A mufti (; , ) 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 ''fatāwa'' have played an important role thro ...
in Ankara, Doğan served as a member of the Advisory and Religious Works Examination Board and a member of the Supreme Council of Religious Affairs. He was named as the director of Religious Affairs on 26 August 1972. During his term he contributed to the establishment of the Türkiye Diyanet Foundation in 1975. His term as the director of Religious Affairs ended on 26 July 1976.
Doğan served as an advisor to the Prime Minister of Turkey in 1976 and joined the CHP. He was elected as a deputy for the party from Malatya in the 1977 general election. He was appointed minister of state on 21 June 1977 to the cabinet formed by Bülent Ecevit after the elections. His ministerial portfolio included the affairs related to the Directorate of Religious Affairs. Doğan's tenure was very brief and ended on 27 July 1977.
Doğan published several books and contributed to various newspapers and journals.
Personal life and death
Doğan died at a hospital in Ankara on 23 January 2018 at the age of 91 and was buried in the Cebeci cemetery.