Word: saracoglu
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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...politician, Saracoglu would easily find a place for himself in the rough & tumble political arena of the U.S. He likes America, Americans and things American-automobiles, cigarets, architecture, movies, industry, government. He is a devotee of sports, an ardent rooter at Turkish soccer games. Unlike most European statesmen, he is approachable, informal, hearty and direct. He likes the cracker-barrel politics which, in Turkey, take place at small, informal dinners. A U.S. career diplomat of many years standing in Ankara said of him once: "He is more like an American politician than anyone else in European governments...
Diplomatic Relations. Saracoglu's relations with those foreign diplomats whom he likes go far beyond the bounds of everyday official contact. As a diplomat, U.S. Ambassador Lawrence Steinhardt is probably closest to the Turkish Prime Minister, gets along best with him across the conference table. The two men became friends in 1939 when the then Foreign Minister Saracoglu cooled his heels for three weeks in the Kremlin's anterooms, trying to negotiate a Russo-Turkish treaty. Steinhardt, then Ambassador to Moscow, had the Turk frequently to bridge parties, at which the Prime Minister plays a canny, steady game...
Closest in personal relationship with Saracoglu is Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen, Britain's Ambassador to Ankara. The two are often seen together in Ankara's nightclubs, which know the Prime Minister well. In the easy intimacy of the capital's drinking and dancing spots, British relations with Turkey have assumed a cordiality enjoyed by no other foreign power...
With Sergei Vinogradov, the Soviet Ambassador, Saracoglu's relations are on a good, solid political footing, personalized by occasional games of chess. The score between the two, after two years of playing, is about even - as are official Russo-Turkish relations at their present stage...
Since he became Prime Minister, Saracoglu sees fewer diplomats than formerly, but still receives them on most pressing matters in his big, comfortable office in the Prime Ministry- one of the rare buildings among Ankara's supermodern structures to preserve the Turkish style of architecture of overhanging roof and pleasant turquoise and red tile facing. Interviews are usually friendly, straightforward, eased along by the Prime Minister's ready smile and humor. He likes to be playful in conversation, but is tough-minded underneath his wisecracks. French is his only foreign language, but in the U.S. a dozen years...