|
|
Turgut Ozal
 A
MEMBER of the Motherland Party, Turgut Ozal became the Prime
Minister of Turkey when his party swept to power in 1983. In 1989, when
national elections were drawing near and defeat seemed certain, he
outraged his opponents by deciding to stand for presidency with the help
of the party, which still controlled Parliament.
He was in Delhi in 1986
and met Indian leaders to exchange views and sign bilateral agreements
on mutual cooperation in various fields, including trade and culture. An
engineer by profession, Ozal did become the President of his nation.
During his short stay as a state guest in Delhi, he visited a number of
places of historical interest. It was during one of his engagements that
I ran into him with his sketch. Much to my surprise, his security
personnel were cooperative and the protocol people too posed no problem.
When I met him, he had a look at his sketch and, with a smile, gave his
autograph before stepping into his limosine.
|
