Abdi İpekçi
Abdi İpekçi (born November 9, 1929 in Istanbul , † February 2, 1979 there ) was a Turkish journalist and editor-in-chief of the Milliyet newspaper . He was considered one of the most important journalists in Turkish history. He was murdered on February 1, 1979.
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Life and education
İpekçi attended Galatasaray High School and began studying law at Istanbul University in 1948 , which he soon dropped out of.
At the age of 14 he had already started to publish articles and caricatures for the sports magazines Kırmızı-Beyaz ("Red-White") and Şut (" Shot on goal"). In 1948 he became an editor and sports reporter for the daily Yeni Sabah . In 1950 he went to the daily newspaper Yeni İstanbul , the following year as head of department at İstanbul Ekspres . In 1954, the publisher Ali Naci Karacan brought him in as head of the service at Milliyet, which had recently been re-established . Five years later, İpekçi became editor-in-chief and remained that way until his death.
Under his aegis, Milliyet acquired an outstanding reputation for its politically center-left quality newspaper with its balanced reporting and numerous well-known authors. İpekçi won authors like Çetin Altan for the paper and promoted talents like Mehmet Ali Birand or İsmail Cem .
At the same time, İpekçi was active as a writer and wrote several books. From 1961 to 1970 he moderated political discussions on Turkish radio. From 1968 he was visiting professor at the journalism faculty of Istanbul University .
İpekçi promoted democracy and human rights in his articles. He particularly advocated the reconciliation of Greeks and Turks. The last major conflict between the two countries, the Cyprus conflict , was just four years ago when İpekçi first facilitated a meeting between Greek and Turkish journalists at a congress of the International Press Institute in 1978 and managed to get the respective journalists' delegations to meet with the then incumbent heads of government of both countries could meet.
On February 1, 1979, Abdi İpekçi was gunned down in his car in front of his house and died the following day as a result of the attack. The perpetrator Mehmet Ali Ağca , the later pope assassin and member of the right-wing extremist Gray Wolves , was caught and sentenced, but six months later he managed to escape from a military prison. Abdi İpekçi left behind his wife and two children.
On a Greek initiative, shortly after İpekçi's death, the Abdi İpekçi Prize was initiated, which honors people and non-governmental organizations who are committed to peace and international understanding between Turkey and Greece.
Many streets and buildings now bear the journalist's name. The 2004 Eurovision Song Contest took place in Istanbul in the now demolished Abdi İpekçi Arena .
Other offices
- 1959: Chairman of the Turkish Journalists' Union
- 1960: Secretary of the Turkish Press Council
- 1964: Member of the Management Committee of the International Press Institute
- 1971: Vice President of the International Press Institute
- 1972: Chairman of the Turkish Press Institute
Web links
- globaljournalist.org: Biography article from July 1, 2000
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | İpekçi, Abdi |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Turkish journalist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 9, 1929 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Istanbul |
| DATE OF DEATH | 2nd February 1979 |
| Place of death | Istanbul |