The 2007 Hadrian Award Honoring the Koç Family

The Koç family’s extraordinary legacy in the Republic of Turkey began more than 80 years ago with the work of patriarch Vehbi Koç. An entrepreneur, businessman, and humanitarian, Koç established a corporate and philanthropic empire that supported the growth and democratization of the country.

Today, his children and grandchildren—son Rahmi M. Koç, and daughters Semahat Arsel, Sevgi Gönül (deceased), and Suna Kiraç along with Rahmi M. Koç's three sons, Mustafa, Ömer, and Ali and Suna Kiraç's daughter İpek Kıraç—and their team have successfully built upon this legacy.

Under Rahmi Koç’s leadership, the Koç Group of companies has grown into the country’s most important conglomerate. Today, under the chairmanship of Mustafa Koç, it is Turkey’s largest private employer with 93,000 employees.

The Koç family’s commercial success can be described as a series of firsts. They built the first lightbulb factory in Turkey, the first local manufacturing plants for cars and trucks, and launched the country’s first line of household appliances. Along with their business achievements has come a tremendous sense of obligation to the country, its people, and its cultural heritage.

This strong sense of duty is reflected in the family’s philosophy that individuals have a responsibility to contribute to the well-being of society, regardless of their financial means. Much of the Koç philanthropy is carried out through the Vehbi Koç Foundation, established in 1969 as the first private foundation in Turkey.

The Vehbi Koç Foundation has focused on three priorities: healthcare, education, and culture. It has sought to improve the quality of Turkey’s healthcare system through innovative hospitals, medical centers, and training programs; advance its education system through enhanced public and private schools and universities; and preserve and promote the cultural resources of Turkey through the many museums and research centers charged with restoring and protecting the country’s heritage.

The Sadberk Hanim Museum, founded in 1980 and named for Vehbi Koç’s late wife, houses a rich collection of Anatolian antiquities and works of art dating from 6000 B.C. The museum’s first exhibition included Sadberk Hanim’s own collection of Ottoman embroideries and costumes amassed during her life. Decorative items embellished with precious stones and costumes dating back to the 16th- and 18th-centuries are also part of the museum’s permanent collection. In 1998, the museum earned the Europa Nostra Award, which recognizes best practices in heritage conservation on a European level.

Inspired by a visit to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, Rahmi M. Koç established, in 1994, the first major museum in Turkey devoted to the history of transportation, industry and communications. Two years after the institution opened its doors to visitors, the Rahmi M. Koç Museum was given the distinction of “European Museum of the Year” by the Council of Europe.

In 2000, the Suna-Inan Kiraç Foundation created the Suna-Inan Kiraç Kaleiçi Museum, which is dedicated to nineteenth-century Turkish life and customs and housed within a beautifully restored traditional Turkish residence.

The Foundation also established the Suna-Inan Kiraç Research Center for Mediterranean Civilizations to research, document, and protect the historical, archeological and ethnographical heritage of Antalya and its vicinity; as well as the Pera Museum, which houses a permanent collection of Kutahya tiles, Anatolian weights and measurements, plus a rich collection of Orientalist and European paintings from the 17th- to the early 19th-centuries.

The Vehbi Koç and Ankara Research Center, located in Vehbi Koç’s former country house, supports the study of Ankara heritage and its environs. The newly established Research Center for Anatolian Civilization, part of the prestigious Koç University, has the distinction of being the first and only institute offering a Master of Fine Arts program in cultural heritage preservation.

From supporting the excavation of ancient sites to preserving elements of great empires, the Koç family has built on the vision of its patriarch, elevating his ideal of responsible citizenship to create a philanthropic model for the global community. The generosity and commitment of the Koçs ensures that our shared heritage will remain intact for the benefit of generations to come.

Read more about the Koç Family, WMF's Hadrian Award, or view the video or slideshow of WMF in Turkey.