He completed a master's degree in Public Administration at the University of Southern California and then returned to a career in public administration in Turkey, eventually becoming Chief of the Directorate of General Security (October 1977 - February 1978) and then governor of Kocaeli, Ankara (during the 1980 Turkish coup d'état) and Istanbul provinces.

In the mid-1980s he was governor of Izmir where he is remembered for a large project of road-building and the construction of Adnan Menderes Airport.

Even today, we cannot deny the contributions of those [Turks, Muslims] disadvantaged by those [non-Muslims] who considered themselves victimized by the deportations.

The principles at the advent of the Turkish republic were extremely significant in turning Turkey into a modern, civilized, and enlightened country.

[5]These statements were widely criticized in the Turkish press as they were interpreted as justifying the Armenian genocide and other atrocities.