Former Turkish finance minister Unakıtan dies aged 70

Former Turkish finance minister Unakıtan dies aged 70

ISTANBUL
Former Turkish finance minister Unakıtan dies aged 70

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Former Finance Minister Kemal Unakıtan died early on Oct. 12 after suffering health problems. He was 70.
Unakıtan served as the finance minister for three consecutive terms in the 58th, 59th and 60th government, starting in 2002 before leaving the post in 2009.

The former politician underwent a bypass operation in 2009 and a kidney transplant in 2013.

Unakıtan was suffering from oedemas and was receiving treatment at the Acıbadem Maslak Hospital in Istanbul for some time.

Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş and Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy chair Cevdet Yılmaz extended their condolences on their Twitter accounts.

Born in 1946 in the northwestern province of Edirne, Unakıtan graduated from the Ankara Financial and Commercial Sciences Academy in 1968. He served as the chairman of Turkey’s Cellulose and Paper Mills Company (SEKA) between 1976 and 1978.

Unakıtan entered parliament in 2002 as an AKP deputy from Eskişehir and became the finance minister in the 58th government.

On May 1, 2009, he had handed over his post to Mehmet Şimşek after a cabinet reshuffle.