Ismet Cheriff Vanly was born in Syria, to Turkish parents, his father a Kurdish officer from
Van. He studied law and philosophy in
France,
United States, and
Switzerland, gaining a PhD in jurisprudence at the
University of Lausanne, and a master's degree in history from the
University of Geneva, subsequently becoming a professor of political and social sciences. He spoke French, English, Arabic, and Kurdish. == Political life ==