Meral Akşener
Turkish politician (born 1956) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Meral Akşener (née Gürer, Turkish pronunciation: [meˈɾal ˈakʃenæɾ]; born 18 July 1956) is a Turkish politician, teacher, historian and academic who is the founder and current leader of the Good Party (İYİ Party).
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Meral Akşener | |
---|---|
Leader of the İYİ Party | |
In office 25 October 2017 – 27 April 2024 | |
Preceded by | Party established |
Succeeded by | TBA |
Deputy Speaker of the Grand National Assembly | |
In office 10 August 2007 – 7 June 2015 | |
Speaker | Köksal Toptan Mehmet Ali Şahin Cemil Çiçek |
Served with | Sadık Yakut Mehmet Sağlam [tr] Güldal Mumcu Ayşe Nur Bahçekapılı Nevzat Pakdil [tr] Eyyüp Cenap Gülpınar [tr] |
Preceded by | Yılmaz Ateş [tr] |
Succeeded by | Koray Aydın |
Minister of the Interior | |
In office 8 November 1996 – 30 June 1997 | |
Prime Minister | Necmettin Erbakan |
Preceded by | Mehmet Ağar |
Succeeded by | Murat Başesgioğlu |
Member of the Grand National Assembly | |
In office 22 July 2007 – 1 November 2015 | |
Constituency | İstanbul (III) (2007, 2011, Jun 2015) |
In office 24 December 1995 – 3 November 2002 | |
Constituency | İstanbul (1995) Kocaeli (1999) |
Personal details | |
Born | Meral Gürer (1956-07-18) 18 July 1956 (age 67) İzmit, Turkey |
Political party | Good Party (2017–present) |
Other political affiliations | True Path Party (1995–2001) Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) (2001–2016) |
Spouse |
Tuncer Akşener (m. 1980) |
Relations | Hasan Tahsin Argun (grand uncle) Işıl Akşener (daughter-in-law) |
Children | Fatih Akşener |
Alma mater | Istanbul University Marmara University |
Occupation | Politician, academic, historian |
Website | meralaksener |
Nickname | Asena |
Akşener first entered parliament as a deputy of the True Path Party (DYP) in the 1995 and 1999 general election, and served as the interior minister in the coalition government established by Necmettin Erbakan between 1996 and 1997. Distrustful of her coalition partner, she played a key role in the downfall of her own government in the 1997 military memorandum.
Akşener entered the parliament as a deputy of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in the 2007, 2011 and June 2015 general elections, serving as a vice-speaker of the Grand National Assembly from 2007 to 2015. After tensions between her and the MHP's leader Devlet Bahçeli, she was not nominated as an MP for the November 2015 general election. In 2016, she led a group of opposition within the party against Bahçeli. On 25 October 2017, she separated from the MHP and founded the Good Party, of which she is the leader. She was the party's presidential candidate for the 2018 elections. Akşener is a key opposition figure in Turkish politics and has been dubbed as an "iron lady" by international observers.[1][2]