İlyas Halil

Ilyas Halil (1 May 1930 – 23 April 2025) was a Canadian banker, author, and poet who served as a senior manager for the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority from 1979 until 2000.

Early life İlyas Halil was born on 1 May 1930, in Adana, Turkey, into a modest Greek Catholic family of Lebanese and Syrian descent. He had a younger sister, Liliane, and a younger brother, Charles. Halil was raised in Mersin, within the region’s Christian minority community, and later attended Tarsus American College, where he learned English.

As a child, he suffered a serious fall that left his left arm partially paralyzed for the rest of his life. His father was frequently absent, and following the death of his mother when he was 17, Halil took on the responsibility of caring for his younger siblings. In difficult financial circumstances, he worked a series of small jobs—including road construction—to support his family.

Poetry and art Halil was active in Turkish literary and artistic circles, and maintained close friendships with several prominent figures, most notably the painter Nuri Abaç, whose artwork would later be featured on the covers of Halil’s published works. He contributed short stories and poetry to various local newspapers and literary journals, gaining recognition for his distinct narrative voice and satirical tone.

His early publications include:

Hal ve Hayal (Fact and Fantasy, 1950) Mürdüm Dalı (Damson Branch, 1953) Yalandır Herhalde (It’s a Lie, Probably, 1959)

After moving to Canada in 1964, Halil took a break from publishing. He resumed his literary output in 1983, releasing a number of poetry and short story collections over the following decades, including:

Doyumsuz Göz (Discontented Eye, 1983) Çıplak Yula (Naked Yula, 1985) İt Avı (Dog Hunt, 1987) Boyansın Ramazan (Shoeshine Ramadan, 1989) İskambil Evler (House of Cards, 1991) Kiralık Mabet (Temple for Rent, 1993) Sarhoş Çimenler (The Drunken Grass, 1995) Gâvur Memur Aranıyor (Wanted: Infidel Employees, 1999) Körler Bahçesi (Garden for the Blind, 2004) Agap Çiçeği (The Agape Flower, 2006) Gâvur Aşevi (Infidel’s Restaurant, 2007) Chagall Yıllarım (My Chagall Years, 2008) Plaza Dona Elvira (Plaza Dona Elvira, 2009) Ebel’in Duası (Ebel’s Prayer, 2011) Salkımlar Ülkesi Salkımya (Two Grapes on a Cluster, 2013)

Many of İlyas Halil’s works have been translated from Turkish into English, French, Arabic, and Greek, allowing his literary contributions to reach an international audience.

His poetry volume It Takes Sixty-Five Years of Waiting was translated into Greek by former Greek ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Dimitris Iliopoulos, and published by the European Art Center in Athens in 2000. The harsh Canadian winters initially presented a significant adjustment for Halil. In 1967, following the birth of his second daughter, the family moved to Montreal after Halil received a promotion within the Bank of Montreal. Halil became known for his investment strategies, which attracted attention from financial experts and advisors worldwide. He retired in 2000 at the age of 70. Together, İlyas and Irene had four daughters. This change helped integrate the family more smoothly into Turkish society and reduced the risk of discrimination, reflecting the broader efforts to foster national unity and cohesion during that period. Local efforts to honor him originally proposed naming a major avenue, but when that proved unworkable, a street was dedicated instead.