Hişyar Özsoy, (born 26 June 1977, Yeniköy,

Bingöl Bingöl (; ; ), known as Çapakçur before 1944, is a city in Turkey. It is the seat of Bingöl Province and Bingöl District,Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

descent. He is a member of the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up of ...

(PACE) for the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP)

Education and academic career

Özsoy graduated with a bachelor's degree in sociology from

Boğaziçi University Boğaziçi University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Boğaziçi Üniversitesi''), also known as Bosphorus University, is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey, historically tied to a former American educational insti ...

in 2002 and earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in 2004 and a Ph.D in

Political Anthropology Political anthropology is the comparative study of politics in a broad range of historical, social, and cultural settings. History of political anthropology Origins Political anthropology has its roots in the 19th century. At that time, thinkers ...

2010, both from the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

. From 2011 onwards he lectured at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. Özsoy is experienced in pedagogics and in 2012 he was chosen as a lecturer in the Thompson Center for learning and teaching of the University of Michigan.

Political career

Özsoy began his political career working as a coordinator of foreign relations and a political consultant for the municipality in

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

between 2005 and 2008. He was elected as member of

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by ...

in the parliamentary elections of June 2015 for Bingöl representing the HDP, and re-elected in the snap election in November 2015. He was a candidate for the mayorship in Bingöl in the local elections of March 2019, but was not elected. Özsoy has been elected into several international bodies. Since 2015 he is a member of the parliamentary group of the

Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

(OSCE). Since November 27, 2015 has been a member of the

(PACE), since May 30, 2016 member of the United Left of Europe - Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) group and on January 21, 2019 he became the vice president of the GUE/NGL. In 2018 he was sent to the Parliamentary Assembly of the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. Additionally, Özsoy is a member of the board of the

Progressive Alliance The Progressive Alliance (PA) is a political international of progressive and social democratic political parties and organisations founded on 22 May 2013 in Leipzig, Germany. The alliance was formed as an alternative to the existing Socia ...

since November 2019.

Political positions

Özsoy is the HDP vice-co chair for foreign politics since 2016. While in 2021 he was also celebrating the HDP's eight anniversary, he also contended the party was part of a longer tradition of several struggling identities in Turkey. He opposed the authoritarian Government composed by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the

Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party, or alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party (, MHP), is a Turkish Far-right politics, far-right, ultranationalism, ultranationalist Political parties in Turkey, political party. The group is often de ...

(MHP) led by

Recep Tayyip Erdogan Recep is a Turkish name deriving from the Arabic name Rajab. It may refer to: People Surname * Aziz Recep (born 1992), German-Greek footballer * Sibel Recep (born 1987), Swedish pop singer Given name * Recep Adanır (1929–2017), Turkish fo ...

and Devlet Bahceli, and claims a prominent role for the HDP in the quest for democracy in Turkey.

Legal prosecution

On the 17 March 2021, the State Prosecutor at the Court of Cassations of Turkey

Bekir Şahin Bekir Şahin (born 1 March 1960, Mecitözü, Turkey) is a jurist, former judge and the current State Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation in Turkey. Education He was educated at the Imam Hatip school and studied law at the Dokuz Eylül Univer ...

filed a lawsuit before the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

demanding for him and 686 other HDP politicians a five-year ban to engage in Turkish politics together with a closure of the HDP due to alleged organizational links with the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, isDespite the PKK's 12th Congress announcing plans for total organisational dissolution, the PKK has not yet been dissolved de facto or de jure. a Kurds, Kurdish militant political organization and armed ...

(PKK).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozsoy, Hisyar 1977 births Living people Turkish people of Kurdish descent People from Yeniköy, Bingöl Kurdish academics Turkish Kurdish politicians Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey) politicians Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe University of Texas at Austin alumni