Abadan Unat was born on September 18, 1921 in Vienna. She graduated from İzmir College for Girls and İstanbul University Faculty of Law, and worked as a journalist in Ulus newspaper until 1950. In 1952 she went to Minnesota University where she studied political science with the Fulbright scholarship. Upon returning to Turkey she started to work at Ankara University as an assistant and became professor in 1966. Abadan Unat, who founded the Institute for Political Behavior in the same faculty, has mainly focused on the problems of Turkish migrant workers and women. She held administrative positions at the International Political Science Association, Turkish Social Sciences Association and the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Commission. The legendary Fulbrighter, who raised many prominent Turkish academics, was awarded the Vehbi Koç Prize in 2012. She currently teaches at Boğaziçi University.