İdris Bal (born 25 April 1968 in

Altıntaş Altıntaş is a town in Kütahya Province in the Aegean Region, Turkey, Aegean region of Turkey. It is the seat of Altıntaş District.

Kütahya Kütahya (; historically, Cotyaeum or Kotyaion; Ancient Greek, Greek: Κοτύαιον) is a city in western Turkey which lies on the Porsuk River, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the seat of Kütahya Province and Kütahya District. In 19 ...

) is a Turkish politician and academic who led the Democratic Progress Party (DGP) between 4 November 2014 and 31 March 2015. He serves as a Member of Parliament for

Kütahya Province Kütahya Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in the Aegean Region, Aegean region of Turkey. Its area is 11,634 km2, and its population is 580,701 (2022). In 1990, Kütahya had a population of 578,000. The neighboring provinces a ...

, having been first elected to the Grand National Assembly in the 2011 general election from the Justice and Development Party (AKP). He is seen as a close supporter of

Fethullah Gülen Muhammed Fethullah Gülen (27 April 1941 – 20 October 2024) was a Turkish Ulama, Muslim scholar, preacher, and leader of the Gülen movement who as of 2016 had millions of followers. Gülen was an influential Neo-Ottomanism, neo-Ottomanist, A ...

, having left the AKP following a dispute between AKP Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

and Gülen's Cemaat movement in 2013. He founded the DGP in 2014, which is seen as the political force of Gülenism in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. He is a graduate from the Faculty of Political Studies at

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

and pursued a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He was a visiting academic at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and a lecturer at Başkent University in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

. He is married with six children and speaks fluent English. On 31 March, Bal resigned from his party and launched an attack against the Gülen Movement, accusing it and the government of censorship.

References

1968 births Living people Istanbul University alumni Leaders of political parties in Turkey Members of the 24th Parliament of Turkey {{Turkey-politician-stub