Kadir Topbaş (8 January 1945 – 13 February 2021) was a Turkish

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as

Mayor of Istanbul The mayor of Istanbul is the head of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. The mayor is elected popularly every five years. Nuri Aslan has served as interim mayor of Istanbul since 26 March 2025. This article covers the Ottoman Empire to the ...

from 2004 to 2017.

Biography

He was born on 8 January 1945, in Altıparmak village of

Yusufeli Yusufeli (, Berdagrak; ka, ახალთი, Akhalti) is a town and district of Artvin Province in the Black Sea Region, Turkey, Black Sea region of Turkey. It is located on the bank of Çoruh River 104 km south-west of the city of Artvin, ...

district in

Artvin Province Artvin Province (; Armenian language, Armenian: Արտվինի նահանգ ''Artvini nahang''; ka, , ''Artvinis p'rovintsia''; Laz language, Laz: ართვინიშ დობადონა ''Artvinish dobadona;'') is a Provinces of Turke ...

. Kadir Topbaş moved to Istanbul in 1946 with his family. He earned a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

architectural history The history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates. The beginnings of all these traditions is thought to be humans satisfying the very basic need of shelt ...

from

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 ...

following his education of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Marmara University Marmara University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Marmara Üniversitesi'') is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university, named after the Sea of Marmara, was founded as a university in 1982. However, its ...

in 1972 and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

at Mimar Sinan University in 1974. After working as

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

, teacher and freelance architect in İstanbul, he served between 1994 and 1998, as advisor to then-mayor of Istanbul

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 ...

for the restoration and decoration of palaces and other historical buildings in Istanbul. Topbaş was also the owner of the Turkish cuisine restaurant chain, Saray Muhallebicisi.

Political career

Topbaş entered politics as member of the religious oriented Milli Selamet Partisi (MSP). Later on, Topbaş ran twice for the deputy of Artvin province in the

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, first in 1977 from the MSP and then in 1987 from Refah Partisi (RP) without success. In 1999, he was elected mayor of Beyoğlu district from the Fazilet Partisi (FP). In the 2004 regional elections, Kadir Topbaş ran for the post of mayor of İstanbul from the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) and won on 28 March 2004. He became co-president of United Cities and Local Governments in November 2007 and was longlisted for the 2008 World Mayor award. Kadir Topbaş was re-elected as the mayor of İstanbul metropolitan area in 2009 Turkish general local elections, passing the runner-up Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, former leader of

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...

. Topbaş was appointed President of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey in 2009. During the Gezi Park protests in mid-2013, he stressed that the redevelopment plans for Taksim Gezi Park were formulated straight from

and not the municipal authorities. Topbaş subsequently made a commitment for better dialogue with the general public before urban development would occur, claiming that "we won’t even change a bus stop without asking local people first". He appeared to walk back on that commitment several days later, saying that it should not be taken literally and that the AKP had the final say. Topbaş's son-in-law was arrested in the aftermath of the

2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt In the evening of 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted ...

, for supposed ties to

Gülen movement The Gülen movement () or Hizmet movement () is an Islamist fraternal movement. It is a sub-sect of Sunni Islam based on a Nursian theological perspective as reflected in Fethullah Gülen's religious teachings. It is referred to by its membe ...

. Because of this, Topbaş himself reportedly lost favour in the AKP, but he refused to quit the party. He stated his plan to carve out a separate burial space for soldiers who participated in the coup and name it "the graveyard for traitors". Near the end of Topbaş's mayoral tenure in 2017, he vetoed five proposed municipal zoning plan changes. However, the vetoes were overridden by his fellow AKP members. He resigned as the mayor of Istanbul metropolitan area on 22 September 2017, without revealing a particular political reason. Mevlüt Uysal, the district mayor of

Başakşehir Başakşehir is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 107 km2, and its population is 514,900 (2022). It is in the European part of Istanbul. The district is home to İsta ...

since 2009, was elected as his successor by the Council of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality on 28 September.

Personal life and death

He was married and had two sons and a daughter. In November 2020, Topbaş was hospitalized for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. He died on 13 February 2021, due to

multiple organ failure Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is altered organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring immediate medical intervention. There are different stages of organ dysfunction for certain different organs, both in acute and in chronic ...

amidst being treated for COVID-19 complications.

Awards

References

External links

UCLG bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Topbas, Kadir 20th-century Turkish politicians 21st-century mayors of places in Turkey 1945 births 2021 deaths Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey Deaths from multiple organ failure Justice and Development Party (Turkey) politicians Mayors of Istanbul National Salvation Party politicians Istanbul University alumni People from Artvin Province Recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit (South Korea) Turkish architects Turkish Sunni Muslims Virtue Party politicians Welfare Party politicians Marmara University alumni Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University alumni Burials at Fatih Mosque Graveyard, Istanbul