Aydın Menderes

Politician (B. 5^th May 1946, Ankara – D. 25^th December 2011, Ankara). He was the youngest son of old Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, and Berin Menderes. He graduated from the TED (Turkish Education Institution) Ankara College in 1964. He completed his higher education at Ankara Academy of Economics and Commercial Sciences (later, Gazi University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences). (1964-68) Later, he dealt with free trade.

Aydın Menderes' political life started when he joined the Demokrat Party (DP), which was under Ferruh Bozbeyli's administration during that time, as Aydın's provincial chairperson in 1970. Following the 1977 general election, he entered the parliament as deputy of Konya Province from the Adalet Party (AP). In 1978, he became a member of the same party's general administration commission. After the military coup of 12^th September 1980, as many other politicians, he was banned from politics for ten years. In 1992, he joined the Demokrat Party, which was founded once again.

In 1993, he was among the founders of the Büyük Değişim Party (BDP) and became its leader. In 1994, he became the chairperson of the new Demokrat Party, under whose roof several parties gathered. At the 1995 general election, he was elected Deputy of Istanbul from the Islamist Refah Party (RP). In 1996, he became the deputy party leader of the last mentioned party. Even if he was elected as the deputy of Istanbul Province in the 1999 general elections from the Fazilet Party (FP), established in place of the Islamist Refah Party, he resigned after a while. In the 2002 general elections, he ran for a seat in the parliament from the Doğru Yol Party (DYP) in Aydın. However, the DYP failed to gain any seat in the parliament as it could not achieve threshold level. Consequently, Menderes could not join in the parliament. Aydın Menderes quit the party after Hüsamettin Cindoruk became the leader of the party in May 2009. Between 2006 and 2010, he worked as a columnist for the newspaper “Tercüman” After 2010, he wrote his columns for the daily “Yeni Asır”.

Aydın Menderes used to spend his days in his farm in Aydın / Çakırbeyli, when he was not concerned with politics. As a result of an unfortunate traffic accident, Menderes became paralyzed. He passed away due to the multi-organ failure in Ankara Atatürk Training and Research hospital, where he had been treated for a long time because of problems in his immune system, on the 23^rd of December, 2011. As required in his will, neither a ceremony in Turkish Grand National Assembly nor a state ceremony was held. After the midday prayer, a funeral prayer was performed even if his corpse was not there (in absentia) in Ankara Hacıbayram Mosque. After his funeral prayer, performed in İstanbul Fatih Mosque, he was buried in Topkapı Mausoleum, where his father's grave also stood.

After his death, people praised him a lot. The fact that he was the son of former Prime Minister Adnan Menderes enabled him to find a position for display purposes in many of the politic parties. Beside his interviews in which he talked about his father’s recollections, in his last years he gained currency with supportive acclaims for the Adalet ve Kalkınma Party (AKP).

After the death of Aydın Menderes whose ideas expressed in his newspaper articles, conferences, television speeches attracted great attention, several politic parties transmitted condolence messages by emphasizing his precious political figure from the AKP to the MHP, from the CHP to the BDP. Because of his father's politic history, Menderes, who was highly respected by right-wing parties, could not do anything more than window-dressing for big right-wing parties. In general the political parties, whose chairperson was Aydın Menderes, could not make their presence felt in country's politics. Menderes, supporting the Adalet ve Kalkınma Party (AKP) in his last times, announced that he was going to aye vote on the 12^th of September, 2010's referendum.

Besides, Menderes, who could not stay out of Islamist Refah Party in "National Vision" movement's vote-boom period, defined the new period by saying "From now on, It will not be discussed on what Islam fits, the discussion will be about what fits on Islam." Aydın Menderes, trying to reconcile the Ottoman Empire and Republican administration, defended that sultanate and caliphate had been alienated because of the period's hardships, however, it was not needed any more.

WORKS:

Tarihte Bir Yolculuk (1987), Acılı Günler 1960 / Aydın Menderes Anlatıyor (recollection, preparation and publishing Muammer Yaşar, 1987), Aydın Menderes ve Siyasette Yeni Yönelişler (Selection of a conversation, 1992), Yirmibirinci Yüzyıla Girerken Dünya ve Türkiye (1994), Yirmibirinci Yüzyıla Girerken Demokrat Partinin Misyonu (1995), Gelenekten Güncele (1999), Devletin Alınyazısı (2005).