Şakir Eczacıbaşı
(1929-2010)

Şakir Eczacıbaşı was born in Izmir in 1929. After finishing Robert College in Istanbul, he studied pharmaceutics at London University. After returning to Turkey, he worked as a journalist for a while. He was also one of publishers of the Sanat Yaprağı in Vatan newspaper. He joined the Eczacıbaşı Medicine Company in 1955 and published Tıpta Yenilikler magazine between 1956 and 1967. From 1960 to 1962, he organized Eczacıbaşı Cultural Films Series with Sabahattin Eyüboğlu and Pierre Biro. In 1964, one of the films “Renk Duvarları” was awarded the Cultural Films Prize by the European Council. He was an initiator of the Turkish Film Association in 1965 and served as its President for 10 years.  In the business world, Eczacıbaşı became a general director in the Eczacıbaşı Holding in the 1970s; he became chairman of the executive board of the Eczacıbaşı Group in the 1980s, and chairman of the board of directors in 1993. He also became a president of the Eczacıbaşı Sports Club in 1996.

As for his photography: Eczacıbaşı had an interest in photography in the 1960s. His photographs were exhibited in Turkey and abroad, and he became one of the most famous modern photographers. He had 13 solo exhibitions in Turkey and 25 in Western countries. Eczacıbaşı published Anlar / Moments (1983), Türkiye Renkleri (1997) and Kapılar ve Pencereler (2001). He published the annual, Eczacıbaşı Renkli Fotoğraf, which contained Turkish photographers’ works. He also published two books Türkiye: Bir Portre and İstanbul Görüntüleri, which shows selected writers and photographers’ works including Bernard Show’s “Gülen Düşünceler” and Oscar Wilde’s “Tutkular, Acılar and Gülümseyen Deyişler.” In 1996, Eczacıbaşı retired from his business life. He was awarded the medal of Art and Education Cavalier in France and the medal of Eminent Service to the Government of the Republic of Turkey. Şakir Eczacıbaşı passed away in 2010.

Reference: fotograf.net; sanalmuze.org; thy.com; cebeci.info