Biography

Image via Ahval

Tansu Çiller served as the Turkish Prime Minister from 1993 to 1996.

Tansu Çiller was born in 1946 in Istanbul, Turkey. She graduated from the University of Bosporus with a degree in economics, she continued her studies in the United States, where she earned a graduate degree from the University of New Hampshire, a Ph.D. from University of Connecticut, and attended Yale University. She returned to Turkey where she became the nation's youngest full-time professor. 

Entering politics in 1990, Çiller began as an economic advisor to the Prime Minister, before being elected to Parliament in 1991. Within months, she was appointed Minister of State (1991-1993) and then Prime Minister after becoming leader of the True Path Party in 1993.

After the collapse of the coalition in 1996, Çiller remained involved in Turkish politics, serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (1996-1997) and Deputy Prime Minister (1996-1997).