Who is Özgür Özel, the new leader of Turkey’s main opposition party?

Özgür Özel is a Turkish politician and pharmacist who became the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) at the party congress on Saturday, defeating the incumbent Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu with 811 votes to 534.

Özel was born on September 21, 1974 in Manisa, western Turkey. He graduated from Ege University Faculty of Pharmacy in 1997 and worked as a pharmacist until 2011. During this time, he held various positions at the Manisa Chamber of Pharmacists, including one term as General Secretary and two terms as President. He also served as the Spokesperson and President of the Manisa Academic Chambers Union during the same years. 

Being a member and representative for various international organizations such as the International Pharmaceutical Federation, the European Union Pharmaceutical Group, and the European Pharmaceutical Forum, Özel actively participated in 163 congresses and conferences, presenting written and oral papers, speeches, and managing panels.

Özgür Özel's parents are retired teachers, and he is married to his fellow pharmacist Didem Özel. The couple has a daughter named İpek.

Özel was actively involved in organizing the Manisa Republican Rally against the Erdoğan government in 2007. He joined the CHP in 2009 and ran for the mayor of Manisa in the local elections, but lost. 

He also served as a delegate for the CHP Manisa Provincial Organization during the 33rd Regular Congress and the 15th Extraordinary Congress.

He was elected as a member of parliament for Manisa in the 2011 general elections and has been re-elected four times since then. He served as the CHP group deputy chair from June 2015 to June 2023, and then as the CHP group chair from June to November. 

In the elections held in December 2007 and 2009, he was elected to the Central Board of Directors of the Turkish Pharmacists' Association. During his tenure, he served as Treasurer for one term and held the position of General Secretary for two terms.

On March 10, 2011, he resigned from his position to become a parliamentary candidate. In the parliamentary elections held on June 12, 2011, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for Manisa from the Republican People's Party.

He has been a Member of Parliament in the 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th legislative periods. During this time, he served on the Health, Family, Labor, and Social Affairs Committee, as well as the Committee Investigating the Soma Mining Disaster. He was also a member of the CHP Committee for Monitoring and Examining Prisons and the Committee for Researching the Problems of Universities and Students.

In the 18th Extraordinary Congress of the CHP following the May elections, he was elected as a member of the Party Assembly. He held this position until he assumed the role of Deputy Group Chair.

In the 25th, 26th, and 27th legislative periods, Özgür Özel served as the Deputy Group Chair of the CHP. In the 28th legislative period, he became the CHP Group Chairman. However, after announcing his candidacy for the CHP leadership, he stated that he had effectively left this position.

On November 4, 2021, Özgür Özel ran against Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in the CHP's 38th Regular Congress. He won the election with 812 votes against 536, becoming the leader of the CHP. (AÖ/VC/VK)