Ziya Müezzinoğlu (1919–2020) was a Turkish economist, diplomat and politician. He held various posts, including ambassador of Turkey to West Germany and minister of finance.

Early life and education

Müezzinoğlu was born in Kayseri on 5 May 1919. He was educated at the

Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University The Faculty of Political Science of the University of Ankara (, more simply known as "''SBF''") is the oldest institution of administrative sciences in Turkey. It is the successor of the "Mekteb-i Mülkiye" ('), also known simply as "Mülkiye," wh ...

Career

After his graduation in 1942 Müezzinoğlu joined at the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

where he first worked in the Finance Inspection Board. He became an inspectorate of finance in 1946. Between 1959 and 1960 he served as the director general of the treasury. Following the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

on 27 May 1960 he was elected to the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

. In 1962 he was appointed undersecretary of the State Planning Organization which he held until 1964 when he was named as the ambassador of Turkey to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. From January 1967 he served as the permanent representative of Turkey at the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

. The same year he also became the representative of Turkey at the European Coal and Steel Union and the European Atomic Energy Community. On 22 May 1972 Müezzinoğlu was appointed finance minister to the cabinet led by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Ferit Melen and remained in office until 1973. Following the

military intervention Interventionism, in international politics, is the interference of a state or group of states into the domestic affairs of another state for the purposes of coercing that state to do something or refrain from doing something. The intervention ca ...

of Turkey in Cyprus Müezzinoğlu was named as the head of the Coordination Council in August 1974. The council was designed to reorganization of the region under Turkish administration. Müezzinoğlu was in office until July 1975. He was elected to the Turkish Senate for 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 ...

in 1975 from his hometown, Kayseri. Müezzinoğlu was elected as a senator from Kayseri in 1977. On 21 June 1977 he was appointed minister of commerce to the second cabinet of

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 ...

. The cabinet could not get a

vote of confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

at the Parliament on 3 July, and Müezzinoğlu's term ended on 27 July. Müezzinoğlu was again appointed minister of finance on 5 January 1978 and served in the cabinet headed by Ecevit until 1979.

Later years, personal life and death

Following his retirement from politics in 1990 Müezzinoğlu was involved in the establishment of several foundations, including Türkiye Ekonomik ve Sosyal Etütler Vakfı (Turkish: Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation), Çağdaş Demokrasi Vakfı (Turkish: Contemporary Democracy Foundation) and Türkiye–Avrupa Vakfı (Turkish: Foundation of Turkey–Europa) He was married and had two children. Müezzinoğlu died in Antalya on 13 June 2020. He was buried at the Kötekli Belen cemetery in Antalya on 15 June after the funeral prayers.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muezzinoglu, Ziya 20th-century Turkish diplomats 20th-century Turkish economists 1919 births 2020 deaths Ministers of finance of Turkey Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians People from Kayseri Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences alumni Members of the 35th government of Turkey Members of the 40th government of Turkey Members of the 42nd government of Turkey Ambassadors of Turkey to West Germany Members of the Constituent Assembly of Turkey Members of the Senate of the Republic (Turkey) Turkish men centenarians