Ex-foreign minister Mümtaz Soysal passes away

ANKARA-Anadolu Agency

Turkish constitutional law scholar Mümtaz Soysal, a one-time foreign minister, passed away on Nov. 11. He was 90 years old.

Soysal had been undergoing treatment for various ailments, according to press reports.

Born in 1929, Soysal was one of the most prominent figures in Turkish constitutional law.

A graduate of the venerable Galatasaray High School in Istanbul, Soysal continued his studies of political science and the law at Ankara University in the nation's capital.

A longtime professor of Constitutional Law at Ankara University, Soysal also served as head of the Mediterranean Community Research Council, vice chair of Amnesty International, and constitutional consultant for the Turkish Cyprus in negotiations over the divided island.

In 1978, he was the first-ever recipient of the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education.

In 1971, he was detained and arrested by the Ankara Martial Law Command, and also worked as a columnist for various newspapers.

A member of parliament from 1991 to 1999 under two different parties, in 1994 he served as foreign minister for several months under the government of Prime Minister Tansu Çiller.