(1949- )
Kendal Nezan is a Turkish Kurdish physicist who fled from Turkey in 1971 and has since become a major critic of the Turkish government's policies toward the Kurds. Over the years he has developed close ties with the French government, in particular with Danielle Mitterrand, the wife of the late socialist president Francois Mitterrand (served 1981-1995). For many years Kendal Nezan has headed the Institut Kurde de Paris, which receives financial support from the French Foreign Ministry and the Fonds d'action social (FAS).
Historical Dictionary of the Kurds. Michael M. Gunter.