Former Turkish state minister dies at 73

By Selma Kasap and Duygu Yener

ANKARA (AA) - Hasan Celal Guzel, a former Turkish state minister, died at age 73 in a hospital where he was receiving treatment early Monday, hospital sources said.

Guzel was in the capital Ankara, after being flown via medical helicopter late Sunday from the western province of Denizli, and was being treated for a pulmonary infection and bowel disorder.

"My father was suffering from renal failure and underwent dialysis at regular intervals,” his son Mustafa Veysi Guzel previously told Anadolu Agency.

“A while ago he had a lung infection and was being treated. He felt unwell due to the infection and a bowel disorder.”

Born in southeastern Gaziantep, Guzel was elected in 1986 to Turkey’s parliament from the Homeland Party (ANAP). He variously served as minister of state, education minister, and youth and sports minister.