Former Minister Çakmakoğlu was bid farewell on his final journey.

The former Minister of Interior and National Defense, Sabahattin Çakmakoğlu, who passed away, was bid farewell on his final journey in his hometown Kayseri.

The former Minister of Interior and National Defense, and MHP Kayseri Deputy during the 21st and 23rd terms, Sabahattin Çakmakoğlu, died at the age of 93 due to a health issue. The late Çakmakoğlu’s funeral was brought to the İncesu district after the ceremony held in front of the Kayseri Governorship. The funeral was buried in the district cemetery following the funeral prayer performed at Karamustafapaşa Mosque after the Friday prayer.

Attending the funeral prayer were Kayseri Governor Gökmen Çiçek, Kayseri Metropolitan Mayor Memduh Büyükkılıç, Garrison Commander Air Brigadier General Volkan Ersun Acar, MHP Kayseri Deputies İsmail Özdemir, Baki Ersoy, Provincial Police Chief Atanur Aydın, AK Party Kayseri Provincial Chairman Fatih Üzüm, mayors, heads of public institutions, relatives of Sabahattin Çakmakoğlu, and citizens.

Who is Sabahattin Çakmakoğlu?

He was born in 1930 in the İncesu district of Kayseri. He completed his primary and secondary education in Kayseri. He graduated from Kayseri High School in 1949. He graduated from Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences in 1953. He started his civil service in the same year as a District Administrative Officer. He served in the military between November 1954 and May 1956.

In 1956, while he was a candidate district governor, he graduated from Ankara University Faculty of Law externally. On July 12, 1957, he served for 12 years as a District Governor in Kozaklı, and subsequently in Gülşehir, Ürgüp, Çıldır, Bayburt, and Konya-Ereğli districts. In November 1968, he was appointed as the Deputy Governor of Ankara. On June 7, 1972, he was promoted to the Governorship of Gümüşhane. He was appointed Governor of Isparta on July 25, 1975, and to Edirne on February 16, 1978. He was centralised that same year. In 1979, he was appointed Governor of Gaziantep. With the military coup of September 12, 1980, he was centralised for the second time. While he was a Central Governor, he graduated from the National Security Academy on behalf of the Ministry of Interior. On April 24, 1984, he was assigned to the Governorship of İçel (Mersin). On January 14, 1988, he was appointed to the General Directorate of Security, on April 11, 1990, to the Undersecretary of the Prime Ministry, and on July 17, 1991, to the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior. Due to the 1991 General Elections, he was appointed as the Minister of Interior independently on August 30, 1991. He was appointed as Central Governor on the same date by the 7th Demirel Government, which was established on November 21, 1991. In February 1992, he was appointed to the Presidential Chief Advisory role. He left his position by resigning on June 30, 1993.

In July 1993, he joined the Motherland Party and served in this party until 1995. In 1996, he joined the Nationalist Movement Party. He served as Chief Advisor to the party’s leader Alparslan Türkeş until his death.

On November 23, 1997, he was elected as a member of the MHP Central Executive Board. Shortly after, he was appointed as the Deputy Chairman of MHP. He entered Parliament as a Kayseri Deputy from MHP in the April 18, 1999 elections. He was appointed as the Minister of National Defense on May 28, 1999.

In the general elections of November 3, 2002, he remained outside the Parliament as his party could not pass the national threshold. After the elections, he was reappointed as the Deputy Chairman of MHP.