Nihat Bülent Gültekin

Nihat Bülent Gültekin was born in 1947 in Orhangazi district of Bursa. Gültekin, who started his education life at Robert High School, graduated from there in 1969. He then completed his academic journey at Boğaziçi University, receiving his MBA degree in 1973.

Shortly after completing his master's degree, he decided to pursue a doctorate in finance and statistics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in the USA. With the doctorate degree he received here in 1976, he returned to Türkiye as an important name in the field of economics. He started his bureaucratic career in 1993, when he was appointed as the president of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye.

A striking detail was that Gültekin had an engineering education. This feature made him one of the rare names in the history of the Central Bank who came to this position with an engineering-based education rather than in economics or finance – Erdem Başçı, who later took over the position, had a similar background. However, after the economic crisis in 1994, Gültekin had to resign from this position.

Nihat Bülent Gültekin, who also played an active role in the political arena, served as chief advisor during the Turgut Özal and Mesut Yılmaz periods. Gültekin, who is also active in the field of international consultancy, also served as a consultant for the Polish Ministries of Finance and Privatization and made significant contributions to the creation of the country's privatization program.

Continuing his academic and professional life, Gültekin was also elected as a member of the Koç University Board of Trustees.