Daily News columnist Erdoğan Alkin passes away

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

The veteran economist was taken to the hospital for a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. The condition resulted in heavy blood loss and multiple organ failure and Alkin could not be saved despite all medical interventions, doctors have said.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was among the first to publicly express condolences to Alkin's family. "Alkin, with his respectable personality, who mentored many estimable economists and left behind many works that opened horizons, will always be well-remembered," he said.

Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan has also expressed his sorrow over Alkin's death. "Turkish science, education and economics have lost a highly esteemed [member]. His place will be never filled. I send my condolences to his family, relatives and the whole Turkish economist community," he said.

Alkin, born in 1936, graduated from the Economics Department of Istanbul University in 1959.

Alkin became a professor in 1973. He was most recently the head of the International Commerce Department of Istanbul Commerce University and a columnist at the Daily News.