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DEC15--OPINION
HEADER: And He Calls Himself a Politician!
by Ercument Kilic
President, ATAA
ATAA visits a neighboring country to Turkey every summer
as a goodwill ambassador.
ATAA's visit to Bulgaria last June which my predecessor
Dr. Orhan Kaymakcalan wisely planned was an eye opener
in more then one ways. Not in the order of importance
but as the curser of my brain clicks randomly, they were
as follows:
The Turkish population which comprises 8% of the
population in Bulgaria, despite the oppression of the
previous communist regime just until 12 years, had been
able come a long way, and now had its own political
party in the Bulgarian parliament, Rights and Freedom
Party. . Not only that, this party with 21 elected
representatives --of which two are women-- was a partner
to the ruling coalition. Not to mention, Deputy Speaker
of the National Assembly was a Turk, Mr. Unal Lutfi. To
make it brief, this visit to Bulgaria by a Turkish NGO
from the United States, ATAA, made the day for
Turkish-Bulgarians. They silently declared to the
Bulgarian public and the government that Turks were a
power to reckon with everywhere, even in the US.
And there was a byproduct to this visit. Four months
after we came back home, the Bulgarian Ministry of
Economy called and informed me that a large Bulgarian
government and business delegation was coming to the
United States along with their deputy prime minister,
Mr. Nikolai Vasillev (36), and that he asked me if ATAA
would be kind enough to introduce their delegation to
American business world, and business leaders in
Washington, DC? And that, we did, and we did
successfully. The only Turkish businessman participant
of the delegation, Mr. Omer Omer said as he left the
ATAA building with the group that night: "I am going
back to Bulgaria among this group of forty people with
broader shoulders! Turks in America are strong and well
established". That comment was worth all the trouble in
the world. We had made him prouder to be a Turk. Former
ATAA President Dr. Kaymakcalan deserves a tip of the hat
for all this.
Besides some other things that totally impressed us
about Bulgaria since the departure of communism in the
last dozen years such as Bulgaria having brought its
inflation from roughly 50% to .04% in two years, was a
fact which almost floored us. That was the fact that the
current average age in the Bulgarian cabinet was the
mere age of 42, and there were teo ministers in the
cabinet under 35!
Well, you know?, I am from Turkey.. It is June of 2002!
I have never heard of a more a ridiculous thing! Young
people! In the parliament? Not to even mention in the
cabinet?
When would that ever! happen in Turkey?
Well, it did. Miracles do happen, and there is a proof.
He is the new State Minister of Turkey, Mr. Ali Babacan.
He is 32.
Mr. Babacan and I visited during ATAA's 23rd Annual
Convention in Washington, DC, on December 12, 2002.
Before telling you about his accomplishments or even why
he may have been chosen to this mammoth post of being
responsible for the Turkish Economy , I would like to
tell you something about Mr. Babacan as a person, even
more special beyond his age and wisdom. That is my
impression of a person I saw outside, and the person I
sensed inside. I thought he was surreal, so will you.
And he! calls himself a politician!
The man smiles! This is a genuine smile, not your
average politician's glue-on grin. A smile of warmth
that radiates from his eyes.
He listens! to people. Every single one of them who
wished for an audience. He listened until they were
finished. He did not rush out of the hall to his privacy
unlike some of the others we have seen. He is
thoughtful, kind, gentle, and courteous.
On the inside I saw a man who is a person of deep
conviction, principles. On the inside I saw a driven man
with a mission. His post to him is not a job, it is his
destiny! And also I saw a man though whose hurt is being
camouflaged by his dignity. Because this man with
immaculate English I believe, truly and deeply believes
that his party, AKP is a party of unification, and that
he finds the labels such as "Islamist" a fruit of a
hurtful misconception. Maybe I am wrong. But I believe
not.
Minister Ali Babacan was born in 1967 in Ankara. He
received his BS degree in Industrial Engineering from
Ankara's Middle East Technical University in 1989, and
an MBA degree from Kelogg School of Management,
Northeastern University in 1992. He was as associate in
QRM, Inc. in Chicago between 1992-1994, and he served as
a chief advisor to mayor of Ankara in 1994, and was the
chairman of a textile company between 1994-2002.
And.. I am also told that every school he has ever
attended, he has either ranked first, or he graduated
from it with a grade point average of 4.0.
Mr. Ali Babacan! I wish you well. Make us smile.
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