KADİR HAS, son of Nuri-Zekiye HASOĞLU was born in Kayseri in 1921. He graduated from Boğaziçi High School in 1942 and in the same year married to Rezan HAS, the daughter of Mehmet-Şehime Germirli, a famous family of Kayseri. His father Nuri HASOĞLU, with his tireless assiduity, firm intention, and ability and with several factories and commercial enterprises established from scratch in Adana became one of the richest men of Turkey and one of the founders of AKBANK.Kadir HAS got a start in business immediately after his marriage. Thanks to the traits and characteristics he inherited from his family together with his entrepreneur spirit, energy, assiduity and firm intention and determination and his successful business life primarily engaged in truck and tractor marketing, he took an important place among the distinguished businessmen in Adana within a short period of time. Kadir HAS settled in Istanbul in 1960 and his successful business life primarily in automotive industry and his uprightness and integrity and his determination and accurate and reliable personality allowed him to occupy an important place among the distinguished and affluent businessmen in Istanbul. He established Mercedes Bus and Truck Plant and he served as the Chairman and Board Member of this organization for a long time. He established the first Coca-Cola plant in our country. He made partnership with the Koç family in Karsan’s plant in Bursa for manufacturing minibuses under Peugeot brand. He assumed Turkey distributorship of internationally renowned Michelin tires of France. He established various commercial enterprises of similar nature. Kadir HAS holds the second largest share in the founder’s shares of Akbank after the Sabancı Family. Kadir HAS achieved great success without falling any disagreement or conflict with any one in all of the commercial enterprises that he established and developed owing to his effective and skillful management style and carried out all of his works honorably throughout his business life.
Kadir HAS was awarded a Honorary Doctoral Degree on 1st of June 1998 in the field of Education Management- Planning and Economy of the Department of Teaching and Education Studies of the Faculty of Education with the resolution passed on 16th of April 1998 by the Senate of the Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University as a commendation for his efforts and endeavors and on account of his significant financial and moral contributions to training and education in order to provide a favorable and efficient training environment for future generations and he was also awarded a Honorary Doctorate on 30th of June 1998 from Atatürk Education Faculty with the resolution passed on 8th of July 1997 by the Senate of Marmara University for his financial and moral contributions to the improvement and development of education in Turkey.
Kadir HAS and Rezan HAS made substantial contributions to charity that is intended for the development of the country particularly in the fields of education and health through “Kadir HAS Foundation for Education-HASVAK” that was established in 1991 and they donated all of their fortune to the said foundation. In other words they always believed that the most honorable and loyal obligation to their country is to give back what they had earned. Thus, Kadir Has’s biggest passion is to see the establishment and improvement of the university which bears his name, Kadir Has University.
