Hüseyin Avni Mutlu (born 1956) is a Turkish civil servant. He served as the Governor of Istanbul Province between 2010 and 2014.

Early years and education

Hüseyin Avni Mutlu was born to a

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

father in Fındıklı town of

Rize Province Rize Province ( tr, Rize ili) is a Provinces of Turkey, province of northeast Turkey, on the eastern Black Sea coast between Trabzon Province, Trabzon and Artvin Province, Artvin. The province of Erzurum Province, Erzurum is to the south. It was ...

, Turkey in 1956. He has four siblings. He completed primary education in

Fatih Fatih () is a district of and a municipality (''belediye'') in Istanbul, Turkey, and home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the governor's office, police headquarters, metropolitan municipality and tax office) but not the co ...

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, ...

. After graduating from the Law School 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 ...

, he was appointed candidate district governor ( tr, kaymakam adayı) in

Kocaeli Province Kocaeli Province ( tr, Kocaeli ili, ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province of Turkey and one of only three not to have the same official name as its capital, İzmit, which is thus also sometimes called Kocaeli. The province is the successor of the ...

in 1985. He then served as deputy district governor in

Gerede Gerede is a town and a district of Bolu Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is located on the highway from Istanbul to Ankara (approximately from Ankara, where the road to the Black Sea coast branches off). It covers an area of , and ...

Bolu Province Bolu Province ( tr, ) is a province situated in north-western Turkey. It is located between the capital, Ankara and the largest city in the country, Istanbul. It covers an area of 7,410 km2 and the population is 311,810. The capital city ...

and Kargı,

Çorum Province Çorum ( tr, ) is a province in the Black Sea Region of Turkey, but lying inland and having more characteristics of Central Anatolia than the Black Sea coast. Its provincial capital is the city of Çorum, the traffic code is 19. History Excav ...

. In 1988, Mutlu was appointed district governor in

Büyükorhan Büyükorhan is a town and district of Bursa Province in the Marmara region of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transconti ...

Bursa province Bursa Province ( tr, ) is a province in Turkey along the Sea of Marmara coast in northwestern Anatolia. It borders Balıkesir to the west, Kütahya to the south, Bilecik and Sakarya to the east, Kocaeli to the northeast and Yalova to the nor ...

. In 1991, he went to the USA for one year, where he was educated in English language. Following his return, he was assigned to

Silopi Silopi ( ku, Silopî) is a city and district of Şırnak Province in Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region, close to the borders of Iraq and Syria. The majority of its people are of ethnic Kurds. The district, composed of Silopi center, three to ...

Şırnak Province Şırnak Province ( tr, Şırnak ili, ku, Parêzgeha Şirnexê) is a province of Turkey in the Southeastern Anatolia Region. Şırnak Province was created in 1990, with areas that were formerly part of the Siirt and Mardin Provinces. It borders b ...

as district governor serving until 1994. Between 1994 and 1995, he was deputy province governor in Şırnak, from 1995 to 1977 head of Habur Border Crossing Point in Silopi, and between 1997 and 2002 district governor in

Eceabat Eceabat, formerly Maydos (Madytos, el, Μάδυτος), is a small town and district of Çanakkale province in the Marmara region of Turkey, located on the eastern shore of the Gelibolu Peninsula, on the Dardanelles Strait. According to the 2010 ...

Çanakkale Province Çanakkale Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey, located in the northwestern part of the country. It takes its name from the city of Çanakkale. Like Istanbul, Çanakkale province has a European (Thrace) and an Asian (Anatolia) part. The Eu ...

. The following year, he served as deputy province governor in Çanakkale. He was the district governor of

Bağcılar Bağcılar is a district located on the European side of Istanbul. The district is located near the city centre, just north of Bahçelievler, between the two major ring roads, TEM and D100 (formerly E5). The district is the third most populous i ...

Istanbul Province ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_in ...

from 2003 to 2005. Mutlu is married to a now-retired teacher of history. The couple has two sons. One son studied business administration and the other was educated in law.

Career

Between 2005 and 2007, he served as province governor of Siirt. On September 10, 2007, Mutlu was appointed governor of

Diyarbakır Province Diyarbakır Province ( tr, Diyarbakır ili, Zazaki: Suke Diyarbekır ku, Parêzgeha Amedê) is a Provinces of Turkey, province in southeastern Turkey. The province covers an area of 15,355 km2 and its population is 1,528,958. The provincia ...

succeeding

Efkan Ala Efkan Ala (born 21 February 1965) is a Turkish politician and former civil servant who served as the Minister of the Interior from November 2015 to August 2016;. He previously held the same post from 2013 to June 2015 despite not being a member ...

. On March 31, 2010, Mutlu became governor of Istanbul Province succeeding

Muammer Güler Muammer Güler (born 21 March 1949) is a Turkish politician. He is a member of parliament from the Justice and Development Party (AKP). He was formerly the Governor of Istanbul Province and the Minister of the Interior under Prime Minister Rece ...

. His term ended in 2014 when he was made governor without any responsibility. On 19 July 2016 he was dismissed due to his alleged connection with the

Gülen movement The Gülen movement ( tr, Gülen hareketi), referred to by its participants as Hizmet ("service") or Cemaat ("community") and since 2016 by the Government of Turkey as FETÖ ("Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation" or, more commonly, "Fethullah T ...

Gezi protests

On May 28, 2013, protests began, initially to contest the urban development plan for Istanbul's

Taksim Gezi Park Taksim Gezi Park is an urban park next to Taksim Square, in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district (historically known as Pera.) It is one of the last green spaces in Beyoğlu and one of the smallest parks of Istanbul. In May 2013, plans to replace the ...

. Mass demonstrations spread across the country from Istanbul while riot police brutally tried to suppress the protesters. During a meeting held between the Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...

, some cabinet members and representatives of students, academics and

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s on June 12, 2013, Erdoğan told that he was informed late and incomplete about the course and the extent of the events in Taksim. He added that he had summoned the highest-ranked local civil servant responsible and censured him, who hereupon cried. One of the participants told afterwards the daily ''

Vatan ''Vatan'' ("Homeland" or "Motherland") is a Turkish daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers ...

'' that they perceived the person meant was Governor of Istanbul Hüseyin Avni Mutlu. Governor Mutlu denied this statement and asserted that the prime minister did not use the word "governor".

Arrest

Mutlu was suspended from his position as a governor on July 17, 2016, shortly after the

2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt On 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted to seize cont ...

, which was allegedly orchestrated by the

Gülen Movement The Gülen movement ( tr, Gülen hareketi), referred to by its participants as Hizmet ("service") or Cemaat ("community") and since 2016 by the Government of Turkey as FETÖ ("Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation" or, more commonly, "Fethullah T ...

. He was accused of having ties to the organization behind the takeover attempt. On July 26, he was detained as part of the investigation into the failed coup. He was arrested on August 5, 2016.

References

{{Authority control 1956 births People from Fındıklı Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Turkish civil servants Governors (Turkey) Governors of Diyarbakır Governors of Istanbul People involved in the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt Living people