Politics / Science & invention
Fuat Oktay
born 1964 · politician, engineer, academic
Turkey's first vice president (2018–2023), who earned his master's degree and doctorate in engineering at Wayne State University in Detroit.
- Born
Çekerek, Yozgat, Turkey
age 62- Detroit years
- late 1980s–1990s
- Field
- Politics, Science & invention
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Fuat Oktay was born in 1964 in Çekerek, in Turkey's Yozgat Province, and studied business administration at Istanbul's Boğaziçi University. He then came to Detroit for graduate work at Wayne State University, earning a master's degree in business and manufacturing engineering and a doctorate in industrial engineering, a field closely tied to the region's auto industry. Back in Turkey he taught at Beykent University, worked as an executive in the automotive supply sector and at Turkish Airlines, and in 2012 became head of the national disaster and emergency agency, AFAD. After serving as undersecretary to the prime minister, he became the country's first vice president under the new presidential system in 2018 and held the post until 2023. His Detroit years are a reminder of Wayne State's long pull on international engineering students.
Highlights
- First vice president of Turkey, 2018–2023
- M.S. and Ph.D. in engineering from Wayne State University
- President of Turkey's disaster agency AFAD, 2012–2016
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · late 1980s–1990s
Wayne State University
He earned a master's in business and manufacturing engineering and a Ph.D. in industrial engineering here.