Lyutvi Ahmed Mestan ( bg, Лютви Ахмед Местан, tr, Lütfi Ahmet Mestan) (born 24 December 1960) is a
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
n politician of
Turkish-Bulgarian origin. He was chairman of the
Movement for Rights and Freedoms
The Movement for Rights and Freedoms ( bg, Движение за права и свободи ''Dvizhenie za prava i svobodi'', ДПС, DPS; tr, Hak ve Özgürlükler Hareketi, HÖH) is a centrist political party in Bulgaria with a support base ...
from January 2013 to 24 December 2015. He has been the Member of
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
for
Kardzhali
Kardzhali ( bg, Кърджали , ''Kărdžali''; tr, Kırcaali; gr, Κάρτζαλι, ''Kártzali''), sometimes spelt Kardžali or Kurdzhali, is a town in the Eastern Rhodopes in Bulgaria, centre of Kardzhali Municipality and Kardzhali Pro ...
. He was removed as party leader by the DPS central council and expelled from the party for what it considered an excessively pro-Turkish government stance following the
downing of a Russian bomber jet by the Turkish Air Force.
He subsequently founded a new political force, DOST, acronym of
Democrats for Responsibility, Solidarity and Tolerance in Bulgarian, and a double entendre also signifying ''friend'' in Turkish. The party is based on pro-EU, pro-NATO and liberal opinions.
References
1960 births
Living people
People from Kardzhali Province
Members of the National Assembly (Bulgaria)
Bulgarian Muslims
Bulgarian people of Turkish descent
Movement for Rights and Freedoms politicians
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