Vahit Melih Halefoğlu (19 November 1919 – 20 January 2017) was a Turkish

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. Following his education at the School of Political Science in Ankara University in 1942 he entered the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. Between 1962 and 1983, Halefoğlu served as ambassador in Beirut (1962–1965),

Kuwait City Kuwait City (; ) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economic center of the emirate, containing Kuwait's Seif Pal ...

(1964–1965), Moscow (1965–1966, 1982–1983), The Hague (1966–1970) and

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

(1972–1982). After the general elections held in 1983, Turgut Özal appointed him Minister of Foreign Affairs from outside of the

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. At the intermediate general elections of 1986, he was elected deputy of Ankara from the Motherland Party (ANAP). He did not stand for election in the 1987 general elections and ended his political career.

Personal life

Halefoğlu was married to Zehra Bereket. Her father, Suphi Bereket, was the first President of the

Syrian Federation The Syrian Federation (; ), officially the Federation of the Autonomous States of Syria (), was constituted on 28 June 1922 by High Commissary Henri Gouraud (general), Gouraud. It comprised the States of State of Aleppo, Aleppo, State of Damascus ...

. Halefoğlu died on 20 January 2017 at the age of 97. He was interred at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery following the religious funeral service in

Teşvikiye Mosque The Teşvikiye Mosque () is a neo-baroque structure located in the Teşvikiye neighbourhood of Şişli district in Istanbul, Turkey. History The mosque was originally commissioned in 1794 by Sultan Selim III, but most of the current mosque t ...

References

* Biyografi.net �
''Biography of Vahit Halefoğlu''
1919 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Turkish diplomats Ambassadors of Turkey to Kuwait Ministers of foreign affairs of Turkey Motherland Party (Turkey) politicians People from Antakya Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences alumni Ambassadors of Turkey to West Germany Ambassadors of Turkey to the Soviet Union Ambassadors of Turkey to the Netherlands Ambassadors of Turkey to Lebanon Deputies of Ankara Members of the 45th government of Turkey Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany {{Turkey-politician-stub

Personal life

See also

References