Aytekin Kotil (1934–1992) was a Turkish social democratic politician. He was the

mayor of Istanbul This is a list of mayors of Istanbul, Turkey. This covers the Ottoman Empire to the modern day; the name of the city in English is Constantinople during the Ottoman period and in the Republican era until 1930. Ottoman Empire During 1453–18 ...

being a pioneer in the

municipal socialism Municipal socialism is a type of socialism that uses local government to further socialist aims. It is a form of municipalism in which its explicitly socialist aims are clearly stated. In some contexts the word "municipalism" was tainted with th ...

in Turkey. He was also a member of the

Turkish Parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

Early life and education

Kotil was born in Gündoğdu,

Rize Rize (Greek language, Greek: ρίζα, Laz language, Laz: რიზინი, Georgian language, Georgian: რიზე, , Ottoman Turkish: ريزه) is the capital city of Rize Province in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. Rize ...

, on 21 February 1934. He had three brothers. He was a graduate of

Vefa High School Vefa High School ( tr, Vefa Lisesi), is one of the oldest and internationally renowned high school of Turkey. The first ''mülkiye lisesi'' (non-military high school) training in Turkish language was Vefa Lisesi (established in 1872) which forming ...

, Istanbul. He received a degree in law from the law faculty of

Istanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

in 1960.

Career

Following his graduation Kotil worked as a lawyer in Istanbul. He joined the

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party ( tr, Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, , acronymized as CHP ) is a Kemalist and social-democratic political party in Turkey which currently stands as the main opposition party. It is also the oldest political party ...

(CHP) and became active in the CHP's Istanbul organization. He was part of a faction consisted of those party members from the

Black Sea region The Black Sea Region ( tr, Karadeniz Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Samsun. Other big cities are Trabzon, Ordu, Tokat, Giresun, Rize, Amasya and Sinop. It is bordered by the Marmara Region to the ...

. The group was led by Ali Topuz and included

Necdet Uğur Necdet Uğur (full name Mustafa Necdet Uğur) (1 January 1923 – 27 September 2004) was a politician in Turkey Early life and education He was born in 1923 in Mecitözü ilçe (district) of Çorum Province. In 1944 he graduated from the Facult ...

Orhan Eyüpoğlu Orhan Eyüpoğlu (1918 – 30 November 1980) was a Turkish politician. A graduate of Istanbul University's Faculty of Law, he was deputy director of the Istanbul Police force. In 1973 he was elected as the secretary general of the Republican Pe ...

Tarhan Erdem Tarhan Erdem (1933 – 8 June 2022) was a Turkish politician who was the President of KONDA Research and Consultancy, an opinion polling company. He was a member of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and briefly served as the Minister of Indus ...

and other leading figures in the party. It was the earliest supporter of

Bülent Ecevit Mustafa Bülent Ecevit (; 28 May 1925 – 5 November 2006) was a Turkish politician, statesman, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist, who served as the Prime Minister of Turkey four times between 1974 and 2002. He served as prime minister in ...

against

İsmet İnönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü (; 24 September 1884 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish army officer and statesman of Kurdish descent, who served as the second President of Turkey from 11 November 1938 to 22 May 1950, and its Prime Minister three tim ...

in the election of the CHP chairmanship in 1972. Kotil and Ali Topuz were ardent followers of Bülent Ecevit's '' left of center movement''. Kotil was named as the head of the CHP's Istanbul branch in 1973. He was elected as the mayor of Istanbul in the

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

held on 11 December 1977, replacing Ahmet İsvan in the post. His slogan in the election campaign was "reachable, not a speech- but a service-generating mayor." He managed to obtain 56.05% of the votes. Kotil adopted a socialist approach during his tenure. His term ended in September 1980 immediately after the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

. Kotil's successor in the post was Hakkı Akansel, a military general. Kotil was elected to the Parliament in the 1987 general election from the Social Democratic Populist Party. In the party Kotil and Ali Topuz supported the leadership of

Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal (born 20 July 1938) is a Turkish politician at the Republican People's Party (Turkish: Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, abbreviated CHP) who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1996. Having served in ...

against

Erdal İnönü Erdal İnönü (6 June 1926 – 31 October 2007) was a Turkish theoretical physicist and politician, who served as the interim Prime Minister of Turkey between 16 May and 25 June 1993. He also served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey from ...

Personal life and death

Kotil married in 1961 and had three children. He died of liver disease in Istanbul on 9 August 1992. He was buried in the

Zincirlikuyu cemetery __NOTOC__ The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery ( tr, Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı) is a modern burial ground residing on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of polit ...

Şişli Şişli () is one of the 39 districts of Istanbul, Turkey. Located on the European side of the city, it is bordered by Beşiktaş to the east, Sarıyer to the north, Eyüp and Kağıthane to the west, and Beyoğlu to the south. In 2009, Şi ...

, Istanbul.

Legacy

A park in

Bakırköy Bakırköy is a neighbourhood, municipality and district on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. The quarter is densely populated, has a residential character and is inhabited by an upper middle class population. The municipality of Bakırköy ...

, Istanbul, was named after him in 1993. In 2014 his biography was published in Turkish with the title ''Karadenizli Bir Politikacı: Aytekin Kotil (1934–1992)''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kotil, Aytekin 20th-century Turkish lawyers 20th-century jurists 1934 births 1992 deaths People from Rize Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Members of the 18th Parliament of Turkey Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Mayors of Istanbul Social Democratic Populist Party (Turkey) politicians Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Deaths from liver disease Vefa High School alumni