Career
Describing himself as a "Marxist-liberal", he is the originator of the term "Second Republic", arguing that Turkey needs to reconstitute its republic as a true democracy. He is a strong supporter of the Accession of Turkey to the European Union. He was born 1953 in Ankara, Turkey to the journalist and writer Çetin Altan as the second of two sons.
Altan studied at the Sorbonne University from 1979 to 1984, completing masters and doctoral degrees in economics.
Altan has worked at the Istanbul University Faculty of Economics since 1986, first as assistant professor, then associate professor (1987) and full professor (1993). From 1987 to November 2006 he contributed to Sabah, before moving to Star, becoming editor-in-chief
He left Star in January 2012. He has been dismissed from his paper because of government"s pressures on media.