Nejat Eczacıbaşı
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Nejat Ferit Eczacıbaşı (1913-1993) was a Turkish entrepreneur in the pharmaceutical industry, and a patron of arts.
He was born in 1913 in İzmir, Turkey as the eldest of seven sons to a pharmacist father. His father, Süleyman Ferit was the first Turkish pharmacist in İzmir, and was chief pharmacist in a hospital. After the introduction of family names in 1934, the family took the name "Eczacıbaşı", which means chief pharmacist in Turkish.
After finishing Robert College in İstanbul, Nejat studied chemistry at Heidelberg University in Germany. Between 1934-1935, he attended University of Chicago in the USA and graduated with a MS degree in chemistry. He returned to Germany in 1935, and received his PhD title in chemistry from University of Berlin in 1938. He did research work in biochemistry at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Germany for one year before returning home.
In 1941, Nejat Eczacıbaşı established his own pharmaceutical company to produce vitamin supplements. Already in 1952, a drug production facility in Istanbul was opened. He entered sanitary products manufacturing in 1958, tissue paper production in 1970 and blood plasma and pharmaceutical raw materials manufacturing in 1982. Facilities for the production of wall and floor tiles, building and welding materials, and various chemicals followed. The holding company was founded on December 29, 1973.
Nejat Eczacıbaşı was the founder of Istanbul Culture and Arts Foundation in 1973, which organizes various cultural activities within the Istanbul Festival every year since then. He established further Dr. Nejat Eczacıbaşı Foundation in 1978.
He married his wife Beyhan, née Ergene, in 1946. They have two sons Bülent (1949) and Faruk (1953).
On March 31, 1993, he turned over the chair to his brother Şakir, who after his retirement handed over the leadership to Bülent Eczacıbaşı. Nejat Eczacıbaşı was named honorary president of the group of companies. He died on October 6, 1993 due to a stroke in a hospital in the USA, where he should be operated on cataract.
Nejat Eczacıbaşı was a founding member of the İzmir Rotary Club, the third Rotary club established in Turkey in 1961.
[edit] Books
- Kuşaktan Kuşağa (From Generation to Generation) 1982, His memories.
- İzlenimler, Umutlar (Impressions, Hopes), 1994, His thoughts.
