Köksal Toptan (born 3 January 1943) is a Turkish lawyer, politician and a member of the Justice and Development Party. He earlier served as government minister in three cabinets. He was the speaker of the
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 ...
between August 2007 and August 2009.
He was educated in the Faculty of Law 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 ...
. He worked as a lawyer following his graduation. Köksal Toptan entered politics first at regional level in
Zonguldak
Zonguldak () is a List of cities in Turkey, city of about 100 thousand people in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Zonguldak Province and Zonguldak District.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 ...
as Deputy of Zonguldak and Bartın. He served as Minister of State in the 6th
Süleyman Demirel
Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the List of Presidents of Turkey, 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously serv ...
cabinet (12 November 1979 – 12 September 1980), as Minister of National Education in the 7th Demirel cabinet (23 June 1991 – 25 June 1993) and then as Minister of Culture in the 2nd Tansu Çiller cabinet (5 October 1995 – 30 October 1995). During the government of Justice and Development Party (AKP), he was the chairman of the parliament commission of justice between 2003 and 2007.
Elected as deputy of Zonguldak from the AKP again in 2007, he was nominated by his party for the post of Speaker of the Parliament on 8 August 2007.AKP'nin adayı Köksal Toptan ''Sabah'', 8 August 2007 On 9 August 2007, Köksal Toptan was elected 23rd Speaker of the parliament, supported also by the opposition parties.
Köksal Toptan is married with three children.
Extended biography
On 12 November 1979, he was appointed as a state minister in the Süleyman Demirel government, a post he held until the military coup of 12 September 1980. Banned from politics, Toptan started to work as a lawyer and even represented Demirel, who was also banned from political activity. He became famous winning all the cases in which he defended Demirel. In 1983, he took an active role in the establishment of the True Path Party (DYP), then led by
Hüsamettin Cindoruk
Ahmet Hüsamettin Cindoruk (born 8 June 1933) is a Turkish politician and the 17th Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey between 1991 and 1995. He was also the acting president of Turkey in 1993 and the leader of two political parties, notably o ...
, and entered Parliament for a second time as a
Zonguldak
Zonguldak () is a List of cities in Turkey, city of about 100 thousand people in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Zonguldak Province and Zonguldak District.Bartın and then was appointed minister of education. During his term, he introduced innovative projects such as open high schools and student transfers from the Turkic republics.
After Demirel was elected president in 1993, he competed with Tansu Çiller for leadership of the DYP but was defeated and resigned from his post as education minister. In 1995, he served as culture minister and was re-elected as a Bartın deputy in the general elections held in December of that year. In the 1999 general elections, Toptan was unable to enter Parliament but began to work as the chairman of a foundation promoting Turkey.
Before the 2002 elections, he was invited by Erdoğan to the AKP, was elected as a deputy from Zonguldak and was appointed chairman of the parliamentary Justice Commission, where he helped draft the new
Turkish Penal Code The Turkish Penal Code () is the Codification (law), codification of Turkish criminal law. It took effect on 1 June 2005 and replaced the Turkish Penal Code (1926), Turkish Penal Code of 1926, which had until then been in effect. This in turn has be ...
(TCK). Before Gül was first nominated for the presidency, his name was frequently mentioned as a possible candidate for that post. He was hospitalized at the hour when Gül's candidacy was announced and it was rumored backstage that Toptan's illness could be attributed to his disappointment about not being nominated.
Toptan's wife is a former judge with the Supreme Court of Appeals. During his term as education minister, Toptan conducted appreciable work related to disabilities and encouraged the opening of numerous rehabilitation centers. Toptan's wife, Saime Toptan, is the chairwoman of the Turkish Training and Solidarity Foundation for the Disabled.