About İsmail Cem
İsmail Cem was a Turkish centre-leftist politician, intellectual, writer, author and journalist who served as the Minister of Culture of Turkey from July 7 to October 26, 1995, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey from June 30, 1997 to July 11, 2002. Cem's tenure as the general manager of TRT, then the only TV station in Turkey, created some controversy. On July 20, 2002, ahead of the 2002 parliamentary elections, he founded the New Turkey Party (YTP) together with former DSP colleagues Hüsamettin Özkan and Zeki Eker. Working closely with his Greek counterpart George Papandreou, Cem initiated what became known as "earthquake diplomacy" following the devastating earthquakes that struck both countries in 1999.
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