Mehmet Zeki Sezer (born 12 April 1957) is a Turkish

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

and former chairman of the Democratic Left Party (Demokratik Sol Parti, DSP), he was elected in the 6th ordinary party congress in 2004 after the resignation 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 ...

Early years

Sezer was born in 1957 in

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from "old" and "city") is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 898,369 with a metropolitan population of 797,708. The city is located on the banks of the ...

. He graduated from M. Rüştü Uzel Chemistry Vocational High School and then from the School of

Chemical Engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials in ...

at Gazi Üniversitesi in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

. He completed his 4-month short-term

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...

in 1983.

Early career

During his high school and university years, Sezer played

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

for various clubs. He has a special interest in arts. Sezer began his career as a

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

technician in 1975 in the public service and later worked as a

chemical engineer In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...

. He worked also in the private sector in the same capacity.

Political career

His political career in the DSP started in 1988. Sezer served as an executive of Çankaya branch of DSP, as deputy-chairman of

branch and became a board member in 1991. He also served twice as the party's

secretary-general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

. Between 2001 and 2004 he was the deputy chairman of DSP. In 2004 party congress succeeded Ecevit. However, in 2009 he lost this post to

Masum Türker Masum Türker (born 1951, in Mardin) is a Turkish politician and leader of the Democratic Left Party from 2009 until 2015. He was a minister of state in the 57th cabinet of Turkey. Türker graduated from Istanbul University , image = Ista ...

. In 1999, Sezer was elected as deputy of Ankara to the

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 ...

and served as a minister of state in the 57th government under the

Prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Bülent Ecevit Democratic Left Party

Family life

Sezer is married and has two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sezer, Zeki 1957 births Living people People from Eskişehir Democratic Left Party (Turkey) politicians Leaders of political parties in Turkey Government ministers of Turkey Members of the 21st Parliament of Turkey Members of the 57th government of Turkey Gazi University alumni Ministers of State of Turkey