Ümit Özdağ
Ümit Özdağ | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Leader of the Victory Party | |
Assumed office 26 August 2021 | |
Preceded by | Party established |
Deputy Leader of the Nationalist Movement Party | |
In office 14 November 2015 – 24 February 2016 | |
Leader | Devlet Bahçeli |
Preceded by | Yıldırım Tuğrul Türkeş |
Succeeded by | Mehmet Günal |
Member of the Grand National Assembly | |
Assumed office 8 July 2018 | |
Constituency | Istanbul (II) (2018) |
In office 7 June 2015 – 7 July 2018 | |
Constituency | Gaziantep (Jun 2015, Nov 2015) |
Personal details | |
Born | Tokyo, Japan | 3 March 1961
Nationality | Turkish |
Political party | Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) (until 2016) Good Party (İYİ) (2017–2020) Victory Party (2021–present) |
Spouse | Burçin Bulur |
Children | 1 |
Education | Political science |
Alma mater | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Gazi University |
Occupation | Academic, politician |
Website | umitozdag |
Ümit Özdağ (born 3 March 1961) is a Turkish politician and current Member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. He was deputy leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) from November 2015 to February 2016. He announced his candidacy for the party leadership for the 8th MHP Ordinary Congress in 2006, but had his membership revoked two days later. After returning to the party following a successful lawsuit, he again announced his candidacy for the MHP leadership in April 2016 for the 2016 Nationalist Movement Party Extraordinary Congress, which was eventually called off after numerous legal disputes. He had his party membership revoked by the MHP High Disciplinary Board on 15 November 2016 joined the İYİ Party. In April 2019, he resigned from party's executive board but announced that he will continue to be in the party and continue his party-related activities.[1] On 16 November 2020, Özdağ was also dismissed from the İYİ Party.[2] He founded the Victory Party on August 26, 2021 and was elected the first chairman.[3]
Early life and education
Ümit Özdağ was born on 3 March 1961 in Tokyo, Japan, where his father Muzaffer Özdağ(Army Officer) served as a Turkish government advisor after the Coup d'etat of 1960. His family roots back to Kumyks Turks, and parents are from Kayseri and Gaziantep cities of Turkey.
His mother, Gönül Özdağ(Lawyer), is the founder and she would go on to serve as the first MHP Women's Wing President.[4] His father was a close ally of MHP founder Alparslan Türkeş and served as a member of the National Unity Committee that was installed following the 1960 Turkish coup d'état.[5]
Özdağ studied philosophy, politics and economics at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich,[4] before completing a master's degree on Turkish strategic development and state planning institutions.
Academic career
In 1986, Özdağ joined the Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences at Gazi University as a research fellow. In 1990, he completed a doctorate on military-political affairs in the Atatürk and İnönü period. In 1993, he became associate professor in political theory following his work on the 1960 military coup and political-military relations in the Adnan Menderes era.[6] In 1994, Özdağ became the editor of an international relations and strategic research magazine named Avrasya Dosyası (Eurasia Files). Following research into terrorism and ethnic divisions in the late 1980s, he conducted sociopolitical ground research in the east and southeastern Anatolia regions of Turkey in 1995.[7]
Between 1997 and 1998, Özdağ conducted research and gave lectures on globalisation and ethnic issues in Eurasia in Towson University in Baltimore, United States. He founded the Eurasian Strategic Research Centre (ASAM) in 1999, and launched the Armenian Research Institute in 2000. He served as the President and chair of the executive board of ASAM until 2004. Becoming a Professor in 2001, he left Gazi University in 2005 and became the President of the 21st Century Turkey Institute in the same year.[8]
Political career
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First MHP leadership bid
In 2006, Özdağ announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).[9] His candidacy was rejected and his party membership was revoked two days later, with incumbent leader Devlet Bahçeli being re-elected. Özdağ subsequently returned to Gazi University as a lecturer. He returned to the MHP in 2010 following a successful lawsuit, being fielded as a parliamentary candidate from İstanbul's second electoral district for the 2011 general election. Being in fourth place in his party's candidate list, he was not elected.[10]
Second MHP leadership bid
During the 11th Nationalist Movement Party Ordinary Congress, he was elected as a member of the MHP Central Executive Committee. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for Gaziantep in the June 2015 general election and was re-elected in the November 2015 general election.[11] On 14 November, he became a Deputy Leader of the Party responsible for the Turkish world and international relations.
Özdağ resigned as deputy leader on 24 February 2016, calling for the party to hold an extraordinary congress following its heavy defeat in the November 2015 election. He announced his candidacy for the party leadership on 9 April 2016 after fellow leadership candidates began collecting delegate signatures for an extraordinary congress.[12][13] The process of holding the 2016 Nationalist Movement Party Extraordinary Congress became embroiled in legal disputes and was eventually disbanded after an intervention from the Supreme Electoral Council of Turkey. On 20 October, Özdağ was again referred to the MHP High Disciplinary Board pending dismissal from the party, which took effect on 15 November 2016.[14]
Özdağ claimed that his dismissal also originated from his opposition to an executive presidency, which Devlet Bahçeli supported. The MHP announced that they would jointly draft a new constitution that included an executive presidency with the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) in October 2016.[15]
Victory Party
In August 2021, he announced the foundation of the Victory Party whose logo was inspired by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the Seljuk leader Alp Arslan.[16] In May 2022 he had an altercation with Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu who amongst statements other deemed him a puppet of George Soros, not a human and lower than an animal during a TV broadcast.[17] In response Özdağ challenged to see Soylu at his ministry, and that if he was "man enough" should not hide behind the Turkish police.[17] As Özdağ then showed up at the ministry, he was blocked by the police.[18] As a result of his policies, Ümit Özdağ gained huge popularity on social media. The Party is mostly popular between Turkish Youth. This support brought the party pass the party the election treshold on some surveys. the policies of Victory Party has become a guide for the political agenda in Turkish politics. Especially, illegal refugees situation is one of the most important subject at the 2023 general elections.
According to a Bloomberg analysis, the average likes Ümit Özdağ got on Twitter in May 2022 exceeded even Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[19]
Personal life
He is single and has one son named Alp Özdağ.[20] He speaks English, German and French.
Books
- Değişen Dünya Dengeleri ve Basra Körfezi Krizi, 1990
- Atatürk ve İnönü Dönemlerinde Ordu-Siyaset İlişkisi, ISBN 978-9756217269
- Menderes ve İnönü Döneminde Ordu-Siyaset İlişkileri ve 27 Mayıs İhtilali, 1996, ISBN 978-9755210797
- Türkiye, Kuzey Irak ve PKK - Bir Gayri Nizami Savaşın Anatomisi, 1999
- Türkiye-Avrupa Birliği İlişkileri, 2003
- Türkiye'de Düşük Yoğunluklu Çatışma ve PKK, 2005
- Yeniden Türk Milliyetçiliği, 2006, ISBN 978-9756105016
- Gelecek 1000 Yılda da Buradayız, 2006, ISBN 978-6054991365
- Kürtçülük Sorununun Analizi ve Çözüm Politikaları, 2006, ISBN 978-9752201798
- Atatürk ve İnönü Dönemlerinde Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, 2006, ISBN 978-6054991532
- Türk Ordusunun PKK Operasyonları, 2007, ISBN 978-9944326889
- Kerkük, Irak ve Ortadoğu, 2007, ISBN 978-9756217542
- Türk Ordusunun Kuzey Irak Operasyonları, 2008, ISBN 978-6054991914
- Telafer: Bir Türkmen Kentinin Amerikan Ordusu ve Peşmergelere Karşı Savaşı, 2008, ISBN 978-9756424407
- İstihbarat Teorisi, 2008, ISBN 605412501X
- PKK Neden Bitmedi Nasıl Biter - Kürtçülük Sorununun Analizi ve Çözüm Politikaları, 2008
- Pusu ve Katliamların Kronolojisi, 2009, ISBN 978-6054125180
- Ermeni Psikolojik Savaşı, (Prof. Dr. Özcan Yeniçeri ile), 2009, ISBN 978-6054125159
- Cumhuriyetin En Uzun Dört Yılından Geçerken Türk Sorunu, 2010
- Türk Ordusu PKK’yı Nasıl Yendi, Türkiye PKK’ya Nasıl Teslim Oluyor, 2010, ISBN 978-6054125302
- Doğu Raporu, (İkbal Vurucu ve Ali Aydın Akbaş ile birlikte), 2011, ISBN 978-6054125395
- İkinci Tek Parti Dönemi - AKP'nin Yumuşak Hegemon Parti Projesinin Anatomisi, 2011
- Küçük Orta Doğu: Suriye, 2012, ISBN 978-6054125791
- 21. Yüzyılda Prens, 2012, ISBN 978-6054125784
- Algı Yönetimi: Propaganda, Psikolojik Savaş, Örtülü Operasyon ve Enformasyon Savaşı, 2014, ISBN 978-6054991082
- İstihbarat Örgütleri, 2015, ISBN 978-6054991099
- Milli Güvenlik Teorisi, 2015, ISBN 978-6054991266
- Türk Dış Politikası, (Yelda Demirağ ile birlikte), 2016, ISBN 978-6054991419
- PKK İle Pazarlık: Öcalan İle Anayasa Yapmak, 2016, ISBN 978-6054125838
- Türk'ün Vatanla İmtihanı, 2017, ISBN 978-6053112426
- 100.Yılında Birinci Dünya Savaşı, 2017
- Türk Dış Politikasını Nasıl Bilirdiniz, (Yelda Demirağ ile Birlikte), 2017, ISBN 978-6054991617
- İstihbarat Örgütleri, 2017
- Cesetler Gölgeler Yalanlar, 2017, ISBN 978-6054125531
- İkinci Tek Parti Dönemi, 2017, ISBN 978-6054125418
- Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa'nın 100.Yılında Türk İstihbaratı, 2017
- 21. Yüzyılda Türk Dünyası Jeopolitiği, 2017, ISBN 978-9756769782
- Türk Sorunu, 2017, ISBN 978-6054125197
- Kendi Ülkesinde Kuşatılan ve Bölünen Ordu: Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, 2019, ISBN 978-6054125982
- Kaçınılmaz Çöküş, 2019, ISBN 978-6053115670
- Türk Dış Politikasında Hasar Tespiti, 2019, ISBN 978-6053117735
- Stratejik Göç Mühendisliği, 2020, ISBN 978-6057908230
- Saray Rejiminin Çöküşü ve Türkiye'nin Yükselişi, 2021, ISBN 9786254447020
See also
References
- ^ "İP founding member resigns from party's executive board". Daily Sabah. 3 April 2019.
- ^ "Turkey: Opposition IYI Party dismisses its lawmaker". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
- ^ "İYİ Parti'den ayrılan Özdağ, Zafer Partisi'ni kurdu: TBMM'deki parti sayısı 14'e yükseldi" (in Turkish). 26 August 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
- ^ a b Topcu, Elmas. ""Partei des Sieges": Die neuen Rechtspopulisten in der Türkei". Deutsche Welle.
- ^ sitesi, milliyet.com.tr Türkiye'nin lider haber. "Ümit Özdağ kimdir?".
- ^ "Ümit Özdağ kimdir? MHP'den neden ihraç edildi? İşte kariyeri ve eserleri".
- ^ Ümit Özdağ www.yeniakit.com.tr
- ^ ÖZDEMİR, Mahmut. "Ümit Özdağ Prof. Dr". Yüzyıl Türkiye Enstitüsü.
- ^ "Ümit Özdağ kimdir? MHP Gaziantep Milletvekili Ümit Özdağ hakkında bilinmeyenler".
- ^ "MHP'den ihraç edilen Ümit Özdağ kimdir? Ümit Özdağ hayat hikayesi – Gündem Haberleri". 15 November 2016.
- ^ sitesi, milliyet.com.tr Türkiye'nin lider haber. "ÜMİT ÖZDAĞ Haberleri ve ÜMİT ÖZDAĞ Gelişmeleri- Milliyet".
- ^ "Ümit Özdağ, MHP Genel Başkanlığı'na aday olacak".
- ^ "MHP Genel Başkan Adayı Prof. Dr. Ümit Özdağ 18.06.2016".
- ^ "Son dakika... MHP'li Ümit Özdağ partiden ihraç edildi".
- ^ "MHP'den ihraç edilen Ümit Özdağ konuştu – Gündem Haberleri". 16 November 2016.
- ^ "Former IP lawmaker Özdağ announces new party details". Daily Sabah. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Battle of words between Soylu, Özdağ turns into standoff". Daily Sabah. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ "Higher inflation for the poor, controversy in politics". Bianet.
- ^ "Turkey's Anti-Immigration Challenger Tops Erdogan on Twitter". bloomberg.com.
- ^ "Ümit Özdağ Kimdir?".
External links
- Living people
- Nationalist Movement Party politicians
- Members of the 25th Parliament of Turkey
- Members of the 26th Parliament of Turkey
- Members of the 27th Parliament of Turkey
- Gazi University faculty
- Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni
- Deputies of Gaziantep
- Gazi University alumni
- 1961 births
- People of Kumyk descent
- Former Good Party politicians
- Turkish political party founders
- Politicians from Tokyo