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Altan Oymen, former chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), died Saturday at age 92 due to multiple organ failure, the hospital where he was being treated announced. His funeral arrangements have also been made public.
In a statement, Istanbul’s Florence Nightingale Hospital said Oymen had undergone successful lung surgery six weeks ago after being diagnosed with lung cancer and was discharged a week later. He was readmitted around 15 days ago due to a lung infection.
“Mr. Mehmet Altan Oymen, who had been under follow-up in our intensive care unit for the past three days due to respiratory failure caused by the rapid progression of a lung infection, passed away today at 14:38 due to multiple organ failure. We extend our condolences to his family and all his loved ones,” the hospital said.
Ceremonies honoring Oymen will be held Monday, July 21. The first will take place at 1 p.m. local time at the Turkish Parliament, followed by another at 3 p.m. local time in front of CHP Headquarters in Ankara.
Oymen’s funeral will be held Tuesday, July 22, following the noon prayer at Tesvikiye Mosque in Istanbul's Sisli district. He will be laid to rest at the family grave in Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.
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Meanwhie, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan extended condolences on social media following Oymen’s death.
“I have learned with sorrow of the passing of Mr. Altan Oymen, former chairman of the Republican People's Party, politician, journalist, and writer. I wish Allah’s mercy upon him and offer my condolences to his family and to the CHP organization,” Erdogan said.
CHP Chairman Ozgur Ozel also paid tribute, saying: “We learned a great deal from him in terms of courtesy and politics. I don’t know how we’ll fill his place.”"
A veteran journalist and politician, Oymen led the CHP between 1999 and 2000. He previously served as Minister of Tourism and Promotion in the 40th Government of Türkiye under then-Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.
He was elected to parliament as a CHP deputy in 1977 and again in 1995. After the CHP failed to pass the electoral threshold in the 1999 elections, then-leader Deniz Baykal resigned. Oymen was elected party chairman at the 27th Extraordinary Congress later that year and served for 15 months before Baykal returned to the post in 2000.
Following his political career, Oymen worked as a columnist for the now-defunct Radikal daily.
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