Mustafa Kemal Kurdaş (1920 – 19 April 2011) was a Turkish economist who served as Turkish Minister of Finance, the IMF’s adviser to Latin American governments, president of the Middle East Technical University and deputy head of the Turkish Treasury.
He is best remembered for his work to develop Middle East Technical University (, ODTÜ), build a distinctive campus for it and create a forest in what was arid, eroding land. He helped found and expand a number of businesses. At the same time, he initiated archeological excavations, led the effort to salvage historical artifacts and monuments from flooding by the Keban Dam and supported the publication of findings that throw light on the Neolithic revolution. On the side, he wrote articles and books on economic policy.
His interests span archeology, architecture, business, economics, education and forestry. Kurdaş not only pursued these diverse interests but made a contribution in each area.
Early life
Kemal Kurdaş was born in Bursa, Turkey, to parents who were descendants of Turkish settlers and native Albanians in North Macedonia.Much of the material for this and the next section is from Kurdas’ memoir, a book-length interview by Sengun Kilic Hristidis: Hayatim Mucadeleyle Gecti, Turkiye Is Bankasi Kultur Yayinlari, 2010. His ancestors, who arrived in the Balkans with the Ottoman armies several centuries earlier, established themselves in farming and trade. Despite living among a predominantly Christian population, they retained a distinct cultural identity, though they were more Westernized than the Turks remaining in Anatolia.
In 1912, amid the upheavals of the Balkan Wars, Kemal's parents fled to Anatolia, leaving behind their property and livelihoods. They settled in Bursa, where Kemal was later born. Throughout his life, despite extensive travels and periods living on different continents, Kurdaş maintained a deep affection for Bursa, drawn to its historical bridges and the vistas of Uludağ, known in ancient times as Olympos.
During the decline of the Ottoman Empire following World War I, with Istanbul and parts of Anatolia under foreign occupation, Kemal's father, Şevki Kadri, joined the nationalist forces led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Şevki Kadri was involved in organizing local militias but was captured by Greek forces and spent over three years as a prisoner of war in Greece. Kemal, named after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, was just an infant during his father's imprisonment and was four years old upon his return. His father, significantly aged by his experiences, struggled to reintegrate and support his family.
Şevki Kadri later started a small business producing rakı and wine from local grapes. However, his enterprise was short-lived as the newly established Turkish Republic imposed a government monopoly on alcoholic beverages, which led to the confiscation of his equipment. In poor health and unable to sustain his livelihood, Şevki Kadri appealed to the government for the education of his children.
As the son of a war veteran, Kemal was granted admission to a state boarding school at the age of seven, where he remained through high school and college, rarely visiting his family. Despite the distance, the familial bond remained strong. Kemal often credited his father's patriotism and entrepreneurial spirit as key influences in his life, alongside his namesake, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, whom he believed had selected him for a state-funded education based on a photograph from his youth.
Early career
Kemal Kurdaş pursued his higher education at the Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University, where he spent considerable time in the library honing his English reading skills. This self-directed study inadvertently led him to explore contemporary economic theories, notably encountering the works of John Maynard Keynes at a foreign-language bookstore in Istanbul. Through these books, Kurdaş self-taught Keynesian economics, likely becoming one of the first Turkish civil servants to grasp these concepts.
During his tenure as an auditor at the Ministry of Finance, Kurdaş was recognized for his integrity, maintaining honesty in his audits despite facing pressures to ignore discrepancies. His professional path saw him travel frequently, reviewing tax and expenditure accounts of local government offices across various provinces and towns.
Kurdaş's personal life flourished when he met Ayfer, a woman with a keen interest in art and decoration, in Istanbul. Their marriage spanned six decades and produced three children, enduring until Kurdaş's death.
Professionally, in 1951, Kurdaş was assigned to the Turkish Embassy in London for a year, where he seized the opportunity to attend classes at the London School of Economics. Upon returning to Turkey, he rapidly ascended the ranks, becoming the deputy head of the Treasury at the age of 33. His tenure coincided with a turbulent period marked by a looming financial crisis, following a change in government in 1950 which aimed to dismantle statist policies and liberalize the economy.
The new government's economic strategies, particularly the removal of longstanding import controls and maintaining an overvalued Turkish lira, led to a severe depletion of Turkey's foreign currency reserves. Kurdaş advocated for aligning the official lira exchange rate with the market rate, arguing that a lower valuation would bolster exports and correct the trade imbalance. However, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes opposed this policy, fearing the political repercussions of currency devaluation. Instead, Menderes opted to sustain the trade deficits through foreign loans and aid, which exacerbated the country's debt and facilitated a system of crony capitalism and widespread corruption.
Kurdaş's persistent recommendations for currency devaluation were ignored, and his critiques of government policies made him unpopular among the political elite. Disillusioned by the government's economic management and the social repercussions of its policies, including state-sanctioned looting that targeted minority communities, Kurdaş's dissent grew. His stance eventually led to conflict with Prime Minister Menderes, resulting in increased government surveillance and restrictions on his movements.
Despite these challenges, Kurdaş's expertise was recognized internationally during IMF loan negotiations, leading to an offer to join the agency. However, his attempts to accept this position were thwarted by the government. With the assistance of a broad network of friends and former schoolmates, many of whom held significant governmental positions, Kurdaş was eventually able to secure a passport and leave Turkey for Europe.Hayatim Mucadeleyle Gecti, interview by Sengun Kilic Hristidis, Turkiye Is Bankasi Kultur Yayinlari, 2010.
Minister of finance In 1956, Kemal Kurdaş left Turkey amidst a challenging political climate. He found a supportive environment at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where he was appointed as an advisor to Paraguay in 1958. This role was part of his broader engagement with Latin America, where he analyzed economic issues and offered recommendations.
The military coup in Turkey in 1960, which led to changes in government, prompted an invitation for Kurdaş to return and serve as the Minister of Finance. He accepted the role, motivated by a sense of patriotic duty, despite his and his wife Ayfer's initial preference to remain in America.
Upon his return, Kurdaş implemented significant reforms aimed at stabilizing the economy. He ended large subsidies to state-owned enterprises and enforced tax laws more strictly. His efforts to devalue the Turkish lira resulted in a policy applicable only to foreign currency purchases for travel, which was debated in parliament.
Kurdaş's contributions to economic discourse include several books and articles, such as Science and Common Sense in Economic Policy (1979), Analyses and Comments on Economic Policy (1994), and Endless Error: Collapse of the Turkish Economy (2003). These works discuss the impact of economic policies like inflation and currency valuation on developing economies.Kemal Kurdas, Ekonomik Politikada Bilim ve Sagduyu, Ekonomik ve Sosyal Yayinlar AS, yayin no. 2., 1979.Kemal Kurdas, “Para, Maliye Politikalari ve Enflasyon,” 1985’den 1986’ya Turkiye Ekonomisi Semineri, Ankara Sanayi Odasi Yayini, 1986.Kemal Kurdas, Ekonomik Politika Uzerine Incelemeler ve Yorumlar, Beta Basim Yayim, 1994.Kemal Kurdas, Turkiye Ekonomisindeki Cokus ve Gelecege Bir Bakis, Turkiye Bilimler Akademisi, Akademi Forumu 3, 2002.
Despite the turbulent political landscape, Kurdaş opposed the death sentences issued to the former government officials after the 1960 coup, advocating for a more humane approach to political justice. His diplomatic efforts, however, did not change the outcome.
Remaining politically unaffiliated, Kurdaş maintained relationships across various political groups, including with notable leaders İsmet İnönü and Süleyman Demirel. He left the government with a belief that he had contributed positively to the country's economic stability.
His subsequent role as president of the Middle East Technical University in Ankara was driven by his commitment to educational excellence, aiming to solve Turkey's challenges through academic advancement.
Rectorship at Middle East Technical University Middle East Technical University (METU) was founded in 1956 as an institute dedicated to training engineers, architects, and other professionals to support Turkey's economic development. Initially small and housed in temporary buildings near Ankara's parliamentary complex, the university was given a large tract of land about 40 kilometers outside the city, although early attempts to develop this site were unsuccessful.
The allocated land, featuring Lake Eymir and largely barren hills, was part of an area historically covered by forests in the 15th century before human activity led to deforestation and erosion. Inspired by Atatürk's efforts to re-green Ankara, Kemal Kurdaş, upon becoming president of METU in the 1960s, was determined to transform this arid landscape. During an early visit to the site in 1961, the sight of a solitary tree motivated him to initiate extensive tree-planting initiatives.A video about this incident is on the METU website: http://www.kemalkurdas.metu.edu.tr/node/6 With limited resources, Kurdaş successfully garnered financial support, particularly from American sources, and instituted annual tree-planting days involving thousands of volunteers. The Ministry of Forestry eventually supported these efforts, contributing to the planting of approximately one million trees annually.
The architectural design of the new campus was awarded to young Turkish architects Behruz Çinici and his wife Altuğ following a competition. Their modernist design, which integrated local architectural themes with contemporary materials and layouts, initially faced resistance. Notable features of the design included pedestrian paths reminiscent of traditional Turkish town streets and modernist concrete buildings influenced by Ottoman and Anatolian village styles. The Çinici’s design approach later earned significant acclaim, contributing to Behruz Çinici’s reputation in the field.