Ufuk Uras

Mehmet Ufuk Uras (January 4, 1959, in Üsküdar district of İstanbul, Turkey) is a Turkish libertarian socialist politician and economist who became the first socialist candidate elected to the Turkish parliament since 1960s in 2007. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics of Istanbul University and began working as an academician at the same institution.

A former leader of the university lecturer's union, he was elected the chairman of Freedom and Solidarity Party in 1996. Uras resigned from the leadership after the 2002 general election. He became the party chairman again in 2007. He ran a successful campaign as an "common candidate of the Left", standing on the independents' ticket, backed by Kurdish-based Democratic Society Party and several left-wing, environmentalist and pro-peace groups in the 2007 general election, polling 81 486 votes, that is approximately 4 per cent of the votes in his constituency. As of 2007, Uras is serving as an MP representing Anatolian side of İstanbul.

He was removed from his post in 2009 as the party leader, when his opponent Hayri Kozanoğlu was elected. He resigned from Freedom and Solidarity Party in 19 June 2009.

After the DTP party was dissolved in December 2009 and two of its MPs were banned from politics for five years, he joined forces with the remaining Kurdish MPs in the parliament, giving them the twenty seats necessary to retain their position as a parliamentary party.

Uras is married to ballet dancer and choreographer Zeynep Tanbay.

Books

• ÖDP Söyleşileri, 1999, Istanbul: Alan. ISBN 975-7414-77-8
• Başka Bir Siyaset Mümkün, 2003, Istanbul: İthaki. ISBN 975-8725-79-3
• İdeolojilerin Sonu mu?, 2004, Istanbul: Çiviyazıları. ISBN 975-8663-66-6
• Sezgiciliğin Sonu mu?, 2005, Istanbul: Devin. ISBN 975-6472-16-2
• Siyaset Yazıları, 2005, Istanbul: Alan. ISBN 975-7414-95-6
• Alternatif Siyaset Arayışları, 2005, Istanbul: İthaki. ISBN 975-273-148-1