Hacı Sabancı

Hacı Sabancı (1935 – 1998), a member of the second generation of the renowned Sabancı family, was a Turkish businessman and philanthropist.

He was born on June 25, 1935 in the village of Akçakaya of Kayseri Province as the third son of Hacı Ömer Sabancı, who founded Turkey's second largest industrial and financial conglomerate, Sabancı Holding. Hacı went to school and spent most of his life in Adana. After dropping out of the secondary school, he started his career in the family-owned automobile dealing and cotton exporting companies. He later served at several top management posts in different companies of Sabancı Holding. He was also president of the board of trustees of Sabancı Foundation VakSA.

He married Özcan in 1959. They had two sons, Ömer in 1959 and Mehmet in 1963, and a daughter, Demet. Mehmet died of a heart attack in 2005 at a very young age.

Hacı Sabancı died on June 24, 1998 in İstanbul after a two year struggle against lung cancer. He was laid to rest in Adana next to his murdered brother Özdemir.

Honorary doctorates

* Çukurova University, Adana
* East Mediterranean University, Northern Cyprus

Awards

* Order of Supreme Merit of Turkey presented by President Süleyman Demirel
* "Best Trading Executive of the Balkans" by the International Association of Business Administration

References

* [http://www.sabanci.com/en/st_unutamadiklarimiz.asp?d=4 Our unforgettables at Sabancı Holding website]