Who İs Ahmet KELEŞOĞLU?

Who is Ahmet KELEŞOĞLU?

Ahmet KELEŞOĞLU

(1924 - 2015)

He was born in 1924 in the Ermenek district of Karaman. He was the fifth of six children of Ermenek Merchant İncikzâde Hacı Mustafa Efendi. His father, who was a member of a wealthy family, saw his commercial talent and encouraged him to enter trade at a young age.

He started his business as a drapery at a young age, then turned it into a “bonmarşe” store that met all the needs of the people.

In 1949, he married Nezahat Hanım, the daughter of Mustafa KARPUZCU, one of the Ermenek notables.

In 1958, he founded a drug distribution company in Konya with his father-in-law and brothers-in-law (Nazım and Pharmacist Nevzat).

Since Konya was the center of the Anatolian Seljuks for many years, they named the company they founded “Selçuk Pharmaceutical Warehouse” as a sign of their respect for the Seljuks and with the wish that it would be long-lasting like them.

He continued his successful work in business life by developing it in the pharmaceutical distribution sector. Selçuk Pharmaceutical Warehouse, which he managed, opened branches in Istanbul and Adana in the 1970s and won the title of the first “Multi-Branch Pharmaceutical Warehouse” in the national arena.

In 1987, “Selçuk Pharmaceutical Holding A.Ş.”, which Selçuk Pharmaceutical Warehouse is a part of, established its second distribution channel, “As Pharmaceutical Warehouse”.

Selçuk Pharmaceutical Warehouse shares, which went public in April 2006 and were the first company to be offered to the public in the pharmaceutical distribution sector, attracted great interest from investors.

Having ensured that its distribution activities were spread throughout Turkey in the 1990s, Selçuk Ecza Deposu continued to open new branches and by 2010; it had reached the capacity and size to provide service to approximately 20 thousand pharmacies with its 114 branches, nearly 5 thousand employees and over 2 thousand vehicle fleet throughout Turkey - including As Ecza Deposits. Indeed, with its turnover in 2009, it entered the top 20 companies among all organizations in Turkey and the top 30 organizations in terms of corporate tax. In short, Selçuk Ecza Deposu successfully completed its 57th year in the sector under the management of Ahmet Keleşoğlu and became one of the most important companies in Turkey.

In 1980, he became a partner of İbrahim Etem Ulagay İlaç Sanayii Türk A.Ş. and served as the chairman of the company's board of directors.

Apart from pharmaceutical warehousing and the pharmaceutical sector, "Mamsel İlaç A.Ş." In 1991, he became the distributor of "Humana Milchunion AG" in Turkey and entered the baby food market.

In 1998, he joined the group with Selçuklu İnşaat Turizm San. Tic. A.Ş. and first brought "Phaselis Rose Club Hotel" in Kemer Tekirova and then "Ermenek Selçuklu Hotel" in Ermenek to the service of Turkish tourism in 2003.

He served as the president of the Turkish Pharmaceutical Wholesalers Association for over 25 years from 1977 onwards and carried out many activities during this long period. Due to his devoted work, he was elected "Honorary President" by the Association's General Assembly in 2004.

He founded Selçuk Ecza Holding A.Ş. While continuing its activities in the fields of medicine, industry, tourism and construction, it also contributed to Turkish National Education and put Nezahat Ahmet Keleşoğlu Primary School and Selçuk Ecza 50. Yıl Primary School into the service of education. It contributed to the construction and equipment of Üsküdar Ahmet Keleşoğlu Anatolian High School and Ahmet Keleşoğlu Primary School. It had the construction of the sports hall and an additional building with 36 classrooms of Hafize Özal Primary School. The construction of Marmara University Faculty of Pharmacy Ahmet Keleşoğlu Multimedia and Research Center, the repair and equipment of Istanbul University Faculty of Pharmacy classrooms, library and pharmacy museum are its other contributions to higher education.

Due to its contributions to Selçuk University Faculty of Education, the name of the faculty was changed to "Ahmet Keleşoğlu Faculty of Education" by the decision of the Council of Ministers.

In addition to education, it also provided many supports in the field of culture. In this context, the "Ahmet Keleşoğlu Cultural Center" built on the area allocated by the Konya Selçuklu Municipality was put into service on May 5, 2007. In addition, the "Nezahat - Ahmet Keleşoğlu Mosque" built in Ermenek was put into service in 2008.

Due to his successful work in his commercial life since 1958, especially his efforts in the field of education, he was awarded the "Honorary Doctorate" in the field of "Educational Sciences" according to the decision numbered 2005/1 dated January 18, 2005 of the Selçuk University Senate.

On July 10, 2008, he was given the "Outstanding Service Award" in a ceremony held in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) for his contributions to our country in the fields of education, culture, art and health.

In line with the goal of creating a structure that will continue its work in the fields of production, service, trade and social responsibility activities, he established the "Ahmet and Nezahat Keleşoğlu Foundation", which was his greatest wish, on March 11, 2009.

He increases the number of scholarship students, whom he advises to be hardworking, honest, reliable, respected and devoted, every year, and sends them to the country,

He took on the aim of raising them as good people for their country and families. The foundation managed to become one of the top 3 foundations in Turkey in a short time.

He became ill towards the end of 2014. He passed away on Wednesday, January 14, 2015, at the Istanbul American Hospital, where he received treatment for two months. His funeral prayer was held at the Mürşit Pınar Mosque in the Selçuklu district of Konya and he was laid to rest in the Musalla Cemetery.

After his death, a protocol was signed between our University and the Ahmet and Nezahat Keleşoğlu Foundation for the construction and donation of our faculty building (March 19, 2019). The name of our faculty was also changed to "Ahmet Keleşoğlu Faculty of Dentistry" (April 18, 2019).