Atatürk And Emperor Meiji Of Japan

Ercüment Kılıç is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Economics and International Relations. Upon being recognized around the US as a promoter of better Turkish- American relations for over 30 years, Kılıç became the first and the last civilian Turk, and Turkish-American Washington D.C. NGO leader in US history to be invited to the White House by a US president – President George W. Bush. As a lecturer and promoter of Turkish history and culture, since the 1980s, he has been invited numerous times to all 50 US states, as well as Canada, Mexico, England, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Austria, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan. After being recognized as the President of ATAA (Assembly of Turkish American Associations, Washington, D.C.), for his past work of promoting the merits of ethnic non-governmental organizations in the US, by invitation of the US State Department, he toured Europe and gave lectures at European ethnic organizations and conducted press conferences in Austria and Germany in early 2000s. As ATAA Board Member and President, he also made formal visits to Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Israel, and held meetings with the presidents of Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Israel. As ATAA President, he has organized Congressional events and roundtable panel discussions at the United States Capitol on Turkish-American Relations, Turkey's accession to the European Union, and the Annan Plan. With the collaboration of the US Ambassador to Turkey, Hon. Robert Pearson, he has organized the Turkish State Ballet Company and the Modern Dance Company to give performances in Boston, New York City, and Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Kılıç became the first Turkish-American to be invited to speak at a US Presidential Convention conference. During the 1990s, Kılıç worked as an advisor to US Congressman Jim Moody (D), and organized fact-finding missions for him and his US Congress delegation to Azerbaijan, Turkey, Crimea/Ukraine, and Russia. Kılıç's previous book about the lobbying industry in the US, is titled, "America For Sale." He is currently a lecturer at a university in Turkey.