Emin Çölaşan

Emin Çölaşan ( born March 14, 1942 in Ankara) is a Turkish business managers, administrators, scientists, writers and investigative journalist, whose daily column for 22 years 1985-2007 published in Hürriyet. Because of its clear positions on domestic issues he is regarded as one of the critical figures in the Turkish press. Since 2007 he continues his column in Sözcü. Since 2009 he has been editor in chief of Sözcü.

Family background

Emin Çölaşan was born into a native of Crete family whose last name literally means " desert crossers " means what refers to his grandfather, who was exiled in the Fessanwüste in present-day Libya from the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II because of his membership in the Young Turk movement for seven years. His maternal grandfather, Refik Şevket İnce, born in Polixnitos near Mytilene on the day the Greek island of Lesbos, was the founder of the state of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and had from the 1920s to the 1950s, several ministerial posts. Çölaşans father worked at the National Meteorological Service, where he was general manager for 14 years.

Çölaşan and his wife Tansel (* 1943), who held the post of senior prosecutor of the Turkish Council of State, today the President of the Atatürkçü Düşünce Derneği.

Education and Career

Çölaşan finished his secondary studies at TED Ankara College and graduated from the University of Technology in the Middle East with a doctorate in Management Studies. For a decade he worked in various public institutions, including the State Planning Office, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce and the PETKIM. He prepared from 1972 to 1974 before Börtücene with ICEN research for the Istanbul daily Milliyet and received the Ali Naci Karacan yazi Yarışması twice the award for the best writings of the year. Çölaşan began his journalistic career in 1977 at the Milliyet. He joined in 1985 as a regular columnist for Hürriyet, an influential position which he held for nearly half a century. He is also the author of numerous books, mainly relating to abuses in the government and public circles of the country.

In 2007 he was awarded the Sertel Award for Democracy Sertel Demokrasi Ödülü.

Reviews

Emin Çölaşan was a critic of Prime Minister Turgut Özal (1983-1989), the subject of his bestseller in the 1980s was - Turgut'un Serüveni [ Turgut 's Adventures ] and Turgut nereden Koşuyor? [From where Turgut chases ?]. In the late 2000s, he focused his attacks on rival columnists and the Mayor of Ankara by the Justice and boom Party (AKP ), Melih Gökçek. The two finally appeared in a televised debate that got a warning for indecency by the state censors. Çölaşan also criticized the current AKP government, which is why he was dismissed on 13 August 2007 after 22 years of service from the Hürriyet. As a strong and passionate Kemalist he accused the government of reactionary actions and Islamism.

Works (selection)

• 24 Ocak Bir Dönemin perde Arkası, 1983 - Dizi
• 12 Eylül Özal Ekonomisinin perde Arkası, 1984 - Dizi
• Yalçın'ı Kim Kurtaracak? , 1985.
• Yalçın nereye Koşuyor, 1985.
• Banker Skandalı'nın perde Arkası, 1985.
• İcraatın içinden, 1986 - Röportaj
• Önce İnsanım Sonra Gazeteci, 1987.
• Biz Kirk Kişiyiz Birbirimizi Biliriz, 1987 - Röportaj
• Turgut nereden Koşuyor? , Tekin Yayınevi, İstanbul, 1989.
• Bir Dönemin Yazıları 1988-1989, Tekin Yayınevi, 1990, ISBN 975-478-054-4.
• Turgut'un Serüveni, Yayınevi Tekin, Istanbul, 1993, ISBN 975-478-077-3.
• Sor bakalım, Yayınevi Tekin, Istanbul, 1993, ISBN 975-478-000-5 - Röportaj
• Muhteşem Ikili, Ümit Yayıncılık, Ankara, 1998, ISBN 975-7115-46-0.
• Ah Vah Refah Refah, Ümit Yayıncılık, Ankara, 1998, ISBN 975-7115-42-8.
• Tarihe Düşülen Notlar, Ümit Yayıncılık, Ankara, 2000, ISBN 975-7115-92-4.
• Unutulmayan Söyleşiler Tarihe Düşülen Notlar, 2006.
• Su Benim Gazetecilik " Yaşadıklarım " Doğan KITAP, 2005, ISBN 975-293-284-3.
• Kovulduk Ey Halkım unutma Bizi, Bilgi Yayınevi, 2007, ISBN 978-975-22-0237-5.
• Her Kusun Eti Yenmez, Bilgi Yayınevi 2008, ISBN 978-975-22-0270-2.
• Sakıncalı Gazeteci, Bilgi Yayınevi 2009, ISBN 978-975-22-0299-3.