Dr. Aysun Küçükel, who was born on April 23, 1941 in Malatya, is the founder and first female chief doctor of Güven Hospital, one of Turkey's first private hospitals.

Dr. Aysun Küçükel, who has played a leading role in the creation and development of Turkey's private healthcare sector, has also laid the groundwork for collaboration between the Social Security Institution (the former Social Insurance Institution) and the private healthcare sector.

Dr. Aysun Küçükel has educated numerous physicians and private healthcare directors throughout her career and has led the way for numerous aid activities for disadvantaged segments of the population, both personally and through the Güven Education and Health Foundation, which she and her spouse, Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Küçükel, founded in 2006.

Education and Career

Dr. Aysun Küçükel started her medical education at Istanbul University's School of Medicine on October 1, 1958, and graduated from the medical school on September 15, 1964. Dr. Aysun Küçükel was a resident at the Şişli Sıhhat Yurdu S. Santur Clinic for about a year after graduation. Ms. Küçükel moved to Germany with Dr. Ahmet Küçükel shortly after her marriage to study German and complete an Anesthesiology and Reanimation residency at Brement City Hospital. Duties performed during her stay in Germany:

January 1, 1966 – January 31, 1966; Resident, Department of Surgery, Göppingen District Hospital

April 15, 1967 – June 30, 1968; Resident, Department of Surgery, Itzehoe State Hospital

July 1, 1968 – February 28, 1969; Resident, Department of Anesthesiology, Bremen State Hospital

April 1, 1969 – June 30, 1969; Fellowship, Bremen Nord Central Hospital

October 1, 1969 – July 31, 1973; Anesthesiologist and Anesthesiology Chief Doctor, Bremen Prof. Hess Children’s Clinic

March 1, 1970 – August 31, 1970; Resident, Blood Transfusion Department, Bremen State Hospital

Dr. Aysun Küçükel returned to Turkey in 1972 and briefly studied at the Anesthesiology and Reanimation Department of the School of Medicine at Uludağ University. She and her husband, Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Küçükel, founded Ankara Güven Hospital in 1975, and she has served as Chief Doctor of the hospital continuously since her death. During her 36-year tenure as chief doctor, she and her 34-member team transformed Güven Hospital from a small hospital with 20 beds to a house of cure and remedy, with a massive team of 778 people serving patients.

Dr. Aysun Küçükel has collaborated with numerous officers who work at various governmental bodies, particularly the Turkish Ministry of Health, in order to create new regulations and produce new policies based on her belief that the advancement of the Turkish Healthcare sector is dependent on well-educated human resources who can use state-of-the-art equipment.

Dr. Küçükel has also made significant contributions to the establishment of the “Association of Private Hospitals and Healthcare Organizations” (OHSAD), which represents the majority of private hospitals and healthcare organizations and aims to increase and sustain quality and productivity in healthcare services in accordance with its mission. Dr. Küçükel has also made substantial efforts to educate Turkish women under modern circumstances, to raise their scientific and cultural levels, to assist them in gaining economic independence, and to improve their efficiency in social fields, and she has taken active roles in numerous associations, societies, and platforms, particularly the Turkish Association of Female Graduates of Universities.

Private Life

Dr. Aysun Küçükel is the oldest child of a modern family that traveled to Istanbul for their six siblings' high school and university education. On September 20, 1965, she married Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Küçükel, M.D., her partner in the struggle of 'creating out of nothing.' During her career in Germany, her elder daughter Nüket Küçükel Ezberci was born on August 8, 1969, and her younger daughter Banu Küçükel was born on April 2, 1971. Dr. Aysun Küçükel passed away on August 11, 2007, after a life filled with many wonderful experiences, including being a physician, a mother, an administrator, and a benefactress.

Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Küçükel, M.D., was born in Elazığ on January 10, 1936, and is not only the founder of Güven Hospital, one of Turkey's first private hospitals, but he is also one of the family's final representatives in politics that favor the Demokrat (Democratic) Party.

Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Küçükel, M.D., in collaboration with his wife Dr. Aysun Küçükel, M.D., has made an effort to provide quality, ethics-oriented, and modern healthcare services that meet the needs of the twenty-first century, based on high technology and in accordance with Turkish regulations. Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Küçükel, M.D., paved the way for his political career by holding positions in a variety of non-governmental organizations, most notably as Vice President of the Society of Students, School of Medicine, during his educational career.

Education and Career

Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Küçükel, M.D., graduated from Istanbul University's School of Medicine on September 15, 1964, and moved to Germany about a year later. He studied German in addition to completing his residency in both General Surgery and Vascular Departments there. Duties performed during his stay in Germany:

January 1, 1966 – March 31, 1966; Resident, Department of Surgery, Göppingen District Hospital

April 1, 1966 – March 13, 1967; Resident, Department of Surgery, Itzehoe State Hospital

July 15, 1968 – July 31, 1973; Resident and Deputy Chief Doctor, General Surgery Clinic, Bremen Central Hospital (St. Jürgen Strasse Hospital).

Dr. Ahmet Küçükel returned to Turkey in 1972 and for ten years he served as an academician at Uludağ University in Bursa's School of Medicine. In 1975, he co-founded Ankara Güven Hospital with his wife, Dr. Aysun Küçükel. Furthermore, he was a founding member of the Büyük Türkiye Party and the Doğru Yol Party, a member of Parliament for Elazığ in the Turkish Grand National Assembly for the 18th and 19th periods, the President of the Healthy and Social Affairs Directorate, and the Vice President of the Doğru Yol Party responsible for Women and Youth.

Private Life

Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Küçükel, M.D., is the youngest of five children in a farmer family. On September 20, 1965, he married his ideal wife, Dr. Aysun Küçükel. During his career in Germany, his elder daughter Nüket Küçükel Ezberci was born on August 8, 1969, and his younger daughter Banu Küçükel was born on April 2, 1971. Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Küçükel, M.D., who had a successful career as a physician, father, and politician, passed away on August 20, 2009, two years after he lost his beloved wife, Dr. Aysun Küçükel.