Şerafettin Elçi

Şerafettin Elçi (14 March 1938 – 25 December 2012) was a Kurdish lawyer, politician, government minister and statesman in Turkey. He was one of the pioneers of Kurdish politics in Turkey.

Early years Şerafettin Elçi was born in Cizre, Şırnak Province on 14 March 1938. He finished primary education in his hometown. After completing secondary education in Mardin, he studied law at Ankara University, Law School and graduated in 1964.

During his university years, he was tried in the "Case of Kurdish Propagandists" , so-called "Case of the 49s" under accusation of making Kurdish propaganda.

After graduation, he pursued a career as a lawyer in Cizre. Following the 1971 Turkish coup d'état, Şerafettin Elçi was tried along with the members of the "Turkey Kurdistan Democratic Party" at the Diyarbakır Military Court, and was incarcerated in the Diyarbakır Military Prison for about eight months. He was then among the eleven politicians, who left Süleyman Demirel's (AP) and was offered on December 22, 1977, he was offered the post of a minister in the newly formed cabinet by Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Bülent Ecevit in return of his acceptance to back up a motion of no confidence to overturn Demirel's cabinet. He was appointed Minister of Public Works in the Ecevit cabinet serving from 5 January 1978 to 12 November 1979. As a Minister, he attracted a lot of interest by the media as he undertook an extensive journey to the southeastern provinces on a tour accompanied by reporters. He demanded more governmental support and development for and criticized the ongoing "fascist terrorism" in the region. He was tried by the Supreme Court and convicted to two years and four months in prison and an additional ban to serve in civil service for fourteen months.

In 1992, Elçi established with 98 Kurdish intellectuals the "Kurdish Rights and Freedom Foundation" , and became its president of the board of trustees. After a long judicial struggle against the authorities, he succeeded in 1995 in getting the organization registered as the "Kurdish Culture and Research Foundation" . Through this action, an organization with the word "Kurdish" in its title became official for the first time in the history of Turkish Republic.

Şerafettin Elçi entered the parliament again as an independent deputy from Diyarbakır Province following the general elections held on June 12, 2011.

Family life and death Şerafttin Elçi died on 25 December 2012 at a hospital in Ankara, where he was treated for cancer. After a memorial before the parliament building, his corpse was taken firstly to Diyarbakır, and then was buried in Cizre in a religious funeral attended by thousands.

Şerafettin Elçi was survived by his wife Fatma Elçi and seven children. His daughter Evin married to the successful football manager Mustafa Denizli (born 1949) on July 28, 2010.

Recognition The airport in Sırnak is named after him.