One of the most well known Turkish political leader, Tansu Çiller was first female Prime Minister of Turkey. She has had a meteoric rise given that it was only in 1990 that she joined politics.
Born in Istanbul in 1946, Çiller was educated as an economist from the Bogazici University of Istanbul and went on to do a Ph.D from the University of Connecticut, USA. She became an associate professor in 1978 and full professor in 1983.
Professor Ciller joined Suleyman Demirel's True Path Party (DYP) and was soon promoted as deputy chairperson.
In 1991, she was elected to Parliament from Istanbul. With the subsequent formation of the DYP-led coalition government, Ciller was appointed minister for economy in Demirel's cabinet and soon gained popularity, especially in the West.
She ran for DYP leadership following Dumirel's election as the President and got the highest vote in the first round of elections on June I3,1993.