Senior advisor to Turkish president dies after long illness

Hamdi Kilic, a long-serving senior advisor to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has passed away in Ankara following a prolonged illness. He was a key figure in the president’s communications team for nearly two decades.

Fellow Presidential Chief Advisor Cemil Ertem shared the news, expressing his condolences in a message posted on X, Caliber.Az reports.

Değerli mesai arkadaşımız, Cumhurbaşkanı Başdanışmanı Hamdi Kılıç‘ı kaybettik. Çok üzgünüm.
Allah rahmet eylesin, mekanı cennet olsun. Ailesine Allah’tan sabırlar diliyorum. 🌙

— cemil ertem (@cemilertem) September 13, 2025

“We have lost our esteemed colleague, Presidential Chief Advisor Hamdi Kilic. I am deeply saddened. May Allah have mercy on him, may his place be in paradise. I wish patience from Allah to his family,” Ertem wrote.

Kilic was a central figure in Erdogan’s speechwriting team beginning in 2007 and later served as head of the group responsible for preparing the president’s public addresses from 2015 onward in his role as chief advisor.

Funeral prayers for Kilic will be held on the afternoon of Septmber 13 at the Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque in Ankara, followed by his burial at Golbasi Cemetery.

Numerous members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) issued public condolence messages.

By Sabina Mammadli