Ali Müfit Gürtuna (born 1 June 1952) was the mayor of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

from 11 November 1998 to 1 April 2004.

Political career

He started his political career at The Motherland Party, (

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

: ''Anavatan Partisi'', abbreviated as ANAP) in the beginning of the 1980s. He changed his side in 1994 by joining to the Welfare Party. His rise to success took place after this decision. He was appointed as the mayor of Istanbul in late 1998 and he was elected by popular vote on April 18, 1999. He is the first mayor in Turkey who has played musical instruments and placed importance in Arts. When his term in the office ended, he gave up politics for two years until he returned to public eye by starting the ''Turkuaz Hareketi'' (Turquoise Movement) in 2006.SABAH - 08/07/2006 - 'Turkuaz'ın lideri nabız yokluyor
/ref> He claimed that he formed an alliance from prominent politicians of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

from different political orientations to win the

2007 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2007. * Electoral calendar 2007 * Elections in 2007 * 2007 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 52nd National Conference of the African National Congress * 2007 Algerian legislative el ...

but they did not end up with standing for the election.

References

1952 births Mayors of Istanbul Living people Motherland Party (Turkey) politicians Welfare Party politicians {{Turkey-mayor-stub