Vahit Melih Halefoğlu

In this Turkic name, the surname is Halefoğlu, sometimes transliterated as Halefoglu.

Vahit Melih Halefoğlu (19 November 1919 – 20 January 2017) was a Turkish politician and diplomat.

Vahit Melih Halefoğlu
25th Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 13 December 1983 – 21 December 1987
Prime Minister	Turgut Özal
Preceded by	İlter Türkmen
Succeeded by	Mesut Yılmaz
Personal details
Born	(1919-11-19)19 November 1919 Antakya, Ottoman Empire (now Turkey)
Died	20 January 2017(2017-01-20) (aged 97) Istanbul, Turkey
Political party	Motherland Party (ANAP)
Alma mater	Ankara University, School of Political Science
Profession	Diplomat, politician

Following his education at the School of Political Science in Ankara University in 1942 he entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Between 1962 and 1983, Halefoğlu served as ambassador in Beirut (1962–1965), Kuwait City (1964–1965), Moscow (1965–1966, 1982–1983), The Hague (1966–1970) and Bonn^[1] (1972–1982).

After the general elections held in 1983, Turgut Özal appointed him Minister of Foreign Affairs from outside of the parliament. At the intermediate general elections of 1986, he was elected deputy of Ankara from the Motherland Party (ANAP). He did not stand for election in the 1987 general elections and ended his political career.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Halefoğlu was married to Zehra Bereket. Her father, Suphi Bereket, was the first President of the Syrian Federation.^[2]

Halefoğlu died on 20 January 2017 at the age of 97. He was interred at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery following the religious funeral service in Teşvikiye Mosque.^[3]

See also

• List of Turkish diplomats