Turkish politician (born 1974)
Ozgur Ozel
(born 21 September 1974) is a
Turkish
pharmacist and politician who serves as the chairman of the
Republican People's Party
(CHP). He had shared the
parliamentary deputy group leadership
of the CHP with
Engin Altay
and
Levent Gok
between the years 2015 and 2023. He has been an MP for the
electoral district
of
Manisa
since the
2011 general election
and is well known for his activism concerning the rights of
miners
in
Manisa Province
.
Since 25 February 2024, Ozel has served as vice president of the
Socialist International
.
[1]
Early life and career
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Education
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Ozgur Ozel was born in
Manisa
on 21 September 1974. He comes from a
Balkan Turkish
family originating from
Skopje
,
North Macedonia
and
Thessaloniki
,
Greece
and completed his primary education there. After completing his secondary education, he started college at
?zmir
Bornova Anatolian High School
but returned to Manisa to complete high school. He graduated from
Ege University
Faculty of
Pharmacy
.
[2]
Pharmacist
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Manisa MP Ozel speaking on the floor of the
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
about the
Soma disaster
(2014)
After graduating from university, Ozel worked in an independent pharmacy practice from 1999. He served as the Secretary-General of the Manisa Chamber of Pharmacists between 2001 and 2007 and held the position of Chamber President for two terms. He also took on the roles of Spokesperson and President in the Manisa Academic Associations Union during the same years.
Starting in 2007, he has served as an executive board member, accountant and two-term General Secretary for the
Turkish Pharmacists Association
, having made numerous statements and presentations in 163 different congresses and conferences. Ozel is also a member of the International Pharmacists Federation, the European Union Pharmacists Group and the European Pharmacists Forum.
[3]
Between 2007 and 2011, he served as the treasurer of the Turkish Pharmacists' Association for one term and held the position of Secretary-General for two terms.
Early political career
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Republican People's Party
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Ozgur Ozel voting in the first round of the
38th Republican People's Party Ordinary Convention
(2023)
Ozel was elected as a
Member of Parliament
for the
electoral district
of
Manisa
in the
2011 general election
and was re-elected in
June 2015
and
November 2015
. He was elected to the CHP party council in the party's
18th Extraordinary Convention
held in September 2014. At the start of the short-lived
25th Parliament
on 24 June 2015, he was elected as a CHP
parliamentary deputy group leader
and was re-elected at the start of the
26th Parliament
in November 2015, where he served alongside
Engin Altay
and
Levent Gok
.
[4]
[5]
He took on important responsibilities as an MP, including roles in the Health, Family, Labor, and Social Affairs Committee, the CHP Prisons Monitoring and Inspection Committee, the CHP Universities and Student Issues Research Committee and the Parliamentary
Soma Mine
Research Committee.
In 2015, Ozel was awarded the
U?ur Mumcu
Politician of the Year Award by the
Ataturkist Thought Association
and the Contemporary Journalists Association.
[6]
In the 25th, 26th, and 27th legislative terms, he served as the Deputy Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP) Parliamentary Group, overseeing the CHP's work in the Parliament. He served as the Chairman of the CHP Parliamentary Group between 2015 and 2023.
Soma mine disaster
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Ozel, along with other CHP MPs from Manisa, made worldwide headlines following the
Soma mine disaster
in May 2014, where 301 miners were killed after coal mine collapsed in
Soma
,
Manisa Province
. The disaster caused large-scale criticism of the
Justice and Development Party
(AKP) government, since it had rejected a parliamentary motion that Ozel had put forward to investigate mining incidents in Soma and other mining towns just two months before the disaster.
[7]
His speeches before and after the disaster received nationwide attention.
[8]
CHP leadership candidacy
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In 2023 Ozel ran for party leadership at the
38th Republican People's Party Ordinary Convention
. He criticized
Kemal Kılıcdaro?lu
who had said that he would hand over the party to "a good social democrat with knowledge and experience". However, some party members accused Kılıcdaro?lu of failing to lead the party in a democratic manner. Ozel, in particular, argued that Kılıcdaro?lu had intended this statement to target himself and other potential rivals. Ozel emphasized the importance of the party's internal democracy and said that the party's leader should be elected democratically. He also objected to Kemal Kılıcdaro?lu's analogy of "delivering the party to a safe harbor", asking "Who dragged that ship into dangerous waters?"
[9]
Ozel criticized Kılıcdaro?lu's administration of the CHP, saying that he had failed to grasp the causes of the defeat in the elections of May 2023 and had instead "found excuses". He also criticized the party for allowing 36 candidates from other parties aligned with the CHP to run for CHP seats in the legislative elections.
[10]
In the second round of the CHP congress held on 5 November 2023, Ozel was elected the new Chairman of the CHP.
[11]
Chairman of CHP
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![[icon]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/20px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png) | This section
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Personal life
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Ozel is married to Didem Ozel, and has a daughter. He speaks Turkish, German and English. He supports
Fenerbahce
.
[12]
Electoral history
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Parliamentary
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As a MP
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| This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
March 2024
)
|
Local
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| Election
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Mayoral election votes
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Percentage of votes
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Municipal councillor votes
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Percentage of votes
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Number of municipalities
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Number of councillors
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| 2024
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References
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External links
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| Before 1960
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| 1960?80
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| 1980?present
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