Former Turkish President Demirel Dead at 90

 

He served as Prime Minister seven times

Suleyman Demirel, one of the dominant figures in Turkey’s politics for the past half-century, died early Wednesday, hospital officials said. He was 90.

Demirel died at 2:05 a.m. Wednesday at Ankara’s Guven Hospital of heart failure and a respiratory tract infection, doctors at the hospital said in an announcement broadcast on Turkish television.

Demirel served as president from 1993-2000, the culmination of a four-decade career that saw him serve seven spells as prime minister — two of them ending in his government’s overthrow by military coups.