Mustafa Sarigul

Westminster Debate ‘Global Democracy and Turkey-EU Relations’

Mustafa Sarigul, who was the Mayor of Sisli district of Istanbul between 1999 and 2014,  is a politician, writer and entrepreneur. Sarigul has been the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) candidate for the Istanbul’s mayoralty in March 2014 Local Elections in Turkey. Sarigul became a Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP) Member of Parliament for Istanbul in 1987. He was a member of Democratic Left Party (DSP) under the leadership of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit between 1999 and 2002. Following to 2002 elections he joined the New Turkey Party (YTP) and joined the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in 2003. Due to internal rivalry with the then CHP leader Deniz Baykal, Sarigul had to leave the CHP in 2005 and he founded a new political movement called Turkey’s Change Movement in 2009. However, he has cooperated with the CHP after Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu became the party leader. He published two books ‘TBMM’de Bir Milletvekili’ and ‘İstanbul’da Direksiyon Sallamak’.