Süleyman Demirel  Süleyman Demirel,  (born October 6,
1924, İslâmköy, Turkey), politician and civil engineer who
served seven times as prime minister of Turkey and was president
from 1993 to 2000.  Born into a peasant family, Demirel
graduated in 1948 from the Technical University of Istanbul as
an engineer. He entered politics in 1961 and was elected to the
National Assembly that same year as a member of the Justice
Party (JP), becoming the party’s leader in 1964. On October 27,
1965, after the general elections, he became the youngest prime
minister in his country’s history. As prime minister he improved
Turkey’s ties with its NATO allies and instituted development
programs for his basic constituency, the Turkish peasantry.
Demirel was reelected in 1969, but his moderate policies faced
growing opposition from both the left and the right, and, upon
his refusal to allow the military to assume a policy-making role
in efforts to combat terrorism, Turkey’s military commanders
forced him to resign in March 1971.