Safa Giray

İsmail Safa Giray (5 March 1931[1] – 20 June 2011[2]) was a Turkish civil engineer and politician from the Motherland Party (Turkish: Anavatan Partisi, ANAP). He was a member of the Turkish parliament and served as Minister of Public Works and Housing,[3] Minister of National Defense,[4] and Minister of Foreign Affairs.[5]

Safa Giray
28th Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 23 June 1991 – 21 November 1991
Prime Minister	Mesut Yılmaz
Preceded by	Ahmet Kurtcebe Alptemoçin
Succeeded by	Hikmet Çetin
Minister of National Defense
In office 30 March 1989 – 19 October 1990
Prime Minister	Turgut Özal, Yıldırım Akbulut
Preceded by	Ercan Vuralhan
Succeeded by	Güneş Taner
Minister of Public Works and Housing
In office 13 December 1983 – 30 March 1989
Prime Minister	Turgut Özal
Preceded by	Ahmert Samsunlu
Succeeded by	Cengiz Altınkaya
Personal details
Born	5 March 1931 İzmir, Turkey
Died	20 June 2011 (aged 80) Ankara, Turkey
Nationality	Turkish
Political party	Motherland Party (ANAP)
Education	Civil engineering
Alma mater	Istanbul Technical University
Profession	Civil engineer, politician

Early life and education

Safa Giray was born in İzmir, Turkey in 1931, as a descendant of the former Giray Dynasty. He graduated in 1954 with a degree from the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Istanbul Technical University.[6]

Career

Safa Giray entered politics in 1983 along with Turgut Özal from the beginnings of the Motherland Party[7] and was elected into the parliament as an MP from Balıkesir Province.[8] He held the office of Minister of Public Works and Settlement (13 December 1983 – 30 March 1989) in two Turgut Özal cabinets,[3] Minister of National Defense (30 March 1989 – 19 October 1990) in the Yıldırım Akbulut cabinet. He resigned from the position because of inter-party and cabinet conflicts.[4][9] Later, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs (23 June 1991 – 21 November 1991) by Prime minister Mesut Yılmaz. He left politics in 1999 after 16 years.[7]

In 1993, Safa Giray was accused of fraud and misuse of authority during his time of service as Minister of Public Works. He was tried before the Supreme Court[10] in conjunction with the awarding of contracts for motorway construction.[11] He was found not guilty and was acquitted on 12 April 1995.[12]

Safa Giray died on 20 June 2011 in Ankara and was buried in Gölbaşı Cemetery following a state funeral in front of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and a funeral service at the Kocatepe Mosque.[13]

References

2. "Safa Giray vefat etti". Sabah (in Turkish). 21 June 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
3. Aksoy, Cahit (15 October 2006). "16 yıl sürdü, 17 bakan eskitti 890 milyon dolara mal oldu". Hürriyet (in Turkish).http://arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=5259289
4. Doğan, Yalçın (15 February 2003). "Başkent'te iç savaş". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 16 May 2010.
5. Pry, Peter Vincent (1999). War scare: Russia and America on the nuclear brink. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 120. ISBN 0-275-96643-7. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
6. "İTU'de 231'inci Yıl Kutlaması". Star (in Turkish). 9 May 2004. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
7. Donat, Yavuz (3 November 2004). "Yüce Divan". Sabah (in Turkish). Retrieved 16 May 2010.
8. "Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi Genel Kurul Tutanağı 20. Dönem 1. Yasama Yılı 63. Birleşim 18/Haziran/1996 Salı" (in Turkish). Grand National Assembly of Turkey. 18 June 1996. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
9. Altunışık, Meliha (Spring 2009). Cengiz Kırlı; Zafer Yenal; Deniz Yükseker (eds.). Worldviews and Turkish Foreign Policy in the Middle East (PDF). New Perspectives on Turkey. 40. İstanbul, Turkey: Homer Academic Publishing House. p. 173. ISSN 1305-3299. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
10. "Mahkemeden Tarihi Gerekçe: Katil Erdoğan Diyen DTP'li 'Çankaya'nın Şişmanı' ile Beraat Etti". TürkTime (in Turkish). 20 December 2009. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
11. "Mesut Yılmaz Yüce Divan'da". Radikal (in Turkish). 14 July 2004. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
12. "Ayın Tarihi (Nisan 1995)" (in Turkish). Press Office of the Turkish Government. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
13. "Eski Bakan Safa Giray vefat etti". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 21 June 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.