 She was an AFS-exchange student in 1962 in Phoenix, Arizona.She studied German literature at Istanbul University, then went to Hamburg in Germany, where she continued her studies and earned her Ph.D.

She was a professor at Boğaziçi University and she became the first female governor of Turkey on 6 July 1991, was appointed to this position by President Turgut Özal.She served as governor of Muğla Province from 1991 to 1995.