Hakkı Saruhan Oluç (born 14 January 1958,

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, ...

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 ...

) is a Turkish politician and engineer, a former member and founder of the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP) and current member of the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey 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 ...

for the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

Early life and education

He was born in Istanbul in 1958 and pursued his studies in

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, where he graduated from the University of Rhine-Westphalia in mechanical engineering. Following his return to Turkey, he was a contributor to a Turkish encyclopedia focusing on socialist issues and a journalist for the left-wing BirGün.

Political career

He supported the Thousand Hopes candidates in 2007 and also the Labour, Democracy and Freedom Bloc in the 2011 elections. He was elected to the Turkish parliament representing

Antalya Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...

for the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) in the general election of June 2015 but not re-elected in the snap elections in November 2015. He was elected into the Turkish parliament again in the parliamentary elections of 2018, this time representing

. In July 2018, he was elected the speaker of the HDP, succeeding

Ayhan Bilgen Ayhan Bilgen (born 28 January 1971, Sarıkamış, Kars Province) is a journalist, politician and former mayor of Kars from the Peoples' Democratic Party. Early life and education He studied political sciences at the Ankara University and Soc ...

Political positions

He opposes the

presidential system A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separati ...

introduced by

Recep Tayyip Erdogan Recep may refer to: People Surname * Aziz Recep (born 1992), German-Greek footballer * Sibel Recep (born 1987), Swedish pop singer Given name * Recep Adanır (born 1929), Turkish footballer * Recep Akdağ (born 1960), Turkish physician and poli ...

and criticized the attempts to close the HDP by Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the

Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party (alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party; tr, Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP) is a Turkish far-right and ultranationalist political party. The group is often described as neo-fascist, and has been ...

(MHP). Besides he is demands a political solution for the

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

and Alevi population in Turkey and sees the attempts to abolish the presidential system in Turkey by the opposition parties led by 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 ...

as insufficient. In January 2022, he was involved in talks regarding the creation of a Democratic Alliance with parties not represented in parliament for the next electoral campaign.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oluc, Saruhan Turkish politicians 1958 births Turkish journalists Living people Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey) politicians Members of the 27th Parliament of Turkey