Lale Aytaman

Dr. Lale Aytaman (born 1944) was the governor of Muğla province in Turkey from 1991 to 1995 and the first female governor of Turkey.

Lale Aytaman finished St. George's Austrian High School (Turkish: Avusturya Kız Lisesi) in Istanbul. She was an AFS-exchange student in 1962 in Phoenix, Arizona. She studied German literature at Istanbul University, then went to Hamburg in Germany, where she continued her studies and earned her Ph.D.

She was a professor at Boğaziçi University and she became the first female governor of Turkey on 6 July 1991. She is still the only female governor in Turkey. She served as governor of Muğla Province from 1991 to 1995. She is well known for her engagement for the protection of the environment, cultural heritage, and promoting tourism in her region. She helped women for promoting their handicrafts. The Muğla Handicrafts project was created to preserve the traditional way of cotton and silk weaving. The University of Mugla, Turolian Park, and Iassos Museum were opened during her governorship.

She was head of the Turkish delegation to the Congress for Local and Regional Authorities of Council of Europe in 1995 when she was elected as an MP from the province of Muğla. She was a member of the Motherland Party (ANAP) and a member of the Turkish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe and Western European Union.

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