Reha Muhtar

Reha Muhtar — Biography

Reha Muhtar was born on 21 July 1959 in Istanbul to an Iraqi Turkmen family from Kirkuk; his father taught Arabic language and literature at Ankara University's Faculty of Language, History and Geography. Educated at TED Ankara College and later at Ankara University's School of Journalism, Muhtar entered journalism in 1980, worked as a foreign-policy correspondent for Milliyet's Ankara bureau, and became known as TRT's correspondent in Athens.

He moved into television presenting in 1991 with the talk show "Ateş Hattı," then shuttled repeatedly between TRT, Kanal D, Star TV and Show TV over the following decade, becoming Show TV's chief news anchor and editor-in-chief in 1996. He wrote columns for the newspapers Akşam, Sabah and Vatan, and hosted programs such as Çapraz Ateş on FOX and Çok Farklı on CNN Türk and Kanaltürk, building a reputation for his blunt, uncompromising on-air style.

Muhtar left Vatan in 2016 toward the end of his career and died in Bodrum on 3 June 2026. His death drew wide public attention, and his wife and daughter, Ayşe Nazlı Yumlu, have continued to remember him publicly since.