Kemal Derviş

Kemal Derviş has been the head of the United Nations Development Programme, the UN's global development network, since August 2005. From March 2001 to August 2002, Kemal Derviş was Minister for Economic Affairs and the Treasury, without party affiliation, of the Republic of Turkey.

He was responsible for Turkey's recovery programme after the devastating financial crisis that hit the country in February 2001. In August of 2002, after the crisis was overcome, he resigned from his Ministerial post, joined the Republican People’s Party (centre-left) and was elected to Parliament in November of the same year.