SACRED LEGACY ARCHIVES™

İhsan Doğramacı

1915-04-03 – 2010-02-25

Life & Legacy

İhsan Doğramacı (3 April 1915 – 25 February 2010) was a Turkish paediatrician, entrepreneur, philanthropist, educationalist and college administrator of Iraqi Turkmen descent born in Erbil, Ottoman Empire (now Iraq).
Doğramacı was a pediatric physician and an international leader of development. He was the founder of Bilkent University, a leading private university and Hacettepe University, one of the overall highly ranked universities in Turkey which specializes in medical sciences in Ankara, Turkey, chairman of the board of trustees of Middle East Technical University in 1965, chairman of the UNICEF executive board, founding president of the Council of Higher Education of Turkey, executive director and president of the International Pediatric Association (IPA), co-ratifier of WHO's constitution. He was the first president and the chairman of the board of trustees of WHO since 1985.
He was offered national political leadership positions such as ministry of foreign affairs and premiership by Cemal Gürsel and Süleyman Demirel, both of which he declined.
Doğramacı spoke Turkish, English, French, German, Arabic and Persian. He authored over 100 scientific articles, three books, and six book chapters, and served as the editor of four medical journals.

Occupation & Career

pediatrician, philanthropist, academic, physician

Education

Harvard University; Washington University in St. Louis; Istanbul Faculty of Medicine; Ankara University

Accomplishments, Inventions & Publications

Léon Bernard Foundation Prize; Commander First Class of the Order of the Lion of Finland; Commander with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland; Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 3rd Class; Officer of the Legion of Honour; Heydar Aliyev Order; Independence Order; honorary doctorate of the University of Glasgow; doctor honoris causa of the University of Helsinki; honorary doctor of Anadolu University; honorary doctor of the Boğaziçi University; honorary doctor of Marmara University; “Gizil Chinar” International Award; Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland; Order of the Lion of Finland; Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana; Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella; Order of Christopher Columbus; National Order of Merit; honorary doctorate from the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis; honorary member of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan

Legacy Highlights

Honors & Awards

“Gizil Chinar” International Award · Commander First Class of the Order of the Lion of Finland · Commander with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland · doctor honoris causa of the University of Helsinki · Heydar Aliyev Order · honorary doctor of Anadolu University · honorary doctor of Marmara University · honorary doctor of the Boğaziçi University · honorary doctorate from the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis · honorary doctorate of the University of Glasgow · honorary member of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan · Independence Order · Léon Bernard Foundation Prize · National Order of Merit · Officer of the Legion of Honour · Order of Christopher Columbus · Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella · Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland · Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana · Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 3rd Class · Order of the Lion of Finland