Former Minister of National Defense and 23rd Term MHP Kayseri Deputy Çakmakoğlu has passed away.

Former Minister of National Defense and 23rd Term MHP Kayseri Deputy Sabahattin Çakmakoğlu passed away at the age of 93.

Çakmakoğlu’s funeral will take place tomorrow after the Friday prayer at the İncesu Kara Mustafa Paşa Mosque, followed by his burial at the İncesu Family Cemetery.

Who is Sabahattin Çakmakoğlu?

Sabahattin Çakmakoğlu joined the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in 1995. On November 23, 1997, he was elected as a member of the party’s central executive board and was appointed as deputy chairman. He also ran for president in the 2007 presidential elections but lost to Abdullah Gül.

Sabahattin Çakmakoğlu was born on November 25, 1930, in the İncesu district of Kayseri. He graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences at Ankara University in 1953 and began working in the public sector as a Civil Administration Official. During this period, he served as a district governor in Kozaklı, Gülşehir, Ürgüp, Çıldır, Bayburt, and Ereğli districts. He later was promoted to governor and served in Gümüşhane, Isparta, Edirne, Gaziantep, İçel, and central regions. Additionally, he held positions in the General Directorate of Security, the Undersecretariat of the Prime Ministry, and the Ministry of Interior. In 1991, he was elected as a member of the Higher Education Council by the council of ministers. After retiring in 1992, he worked for a while as the chief advisor to the president. He then entered politics by joining the Motherland Party.

In 1995, he became a member of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). He served as an advisor to Alparslan Türkeş until his death. On November 23, 1997, he was elected to the central executive board of the MHP and became deputy chairman. In the 1999 general elections, he was elected as a deputy from Kayseri to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. He was appointed as the Minister of National Defense in the government formed on May 28, 1999. He became a Kayseri deputy again in the 2007 elections. He ran for president in the 2007 presidential elections but lost to Abdullah Gül. Sabahattin Çakmakoğlu withdrew from politics by not running in the 2011 general elections.