Melih Gökçek | |
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Melih Gökçek in 2013
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Mayor of Ankara | |
Assumed office 27 March 1994 |
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Preceded by | Vedat Aydın |
Personal details | |
Born |
İbrahim Melih Gökçek October 20, 1948 Keçiören, Ankara |
Nationality | Turkish |
Political party | Justice and Development Party (2004–present) |
Other political affiliations |
Virtue Party (1999–2004) Welfare Party (1991–1999) Motherland Party (1984-1989) |
Alma mater | Gazi University |
Religion | Sunni Islam |
Website | www.melihgokcek.com |
İbrahim Melih Gökçek (born 20 October 1948) is a Turkish politician who has been the Mayor of Ankara since 1994. From 1991 to 1994, he was an MP. Gökçek has won municipal elections in 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009 and was controversially also declared the winner in 2014. He is a member of the governing Justice and Development Party.
Gökçek was born at Keçiören in Ankara. The Gökçek family, originally from Halfeti, moved to Gaziantep for father Ahmet Gökçek's career as a lawyer. Having his primary, secondary and high school education in Gaziantep, Melih Gökçek graduated from Gazi University, College of Journalism, in Ankara. He worked as Parliament Correspondent and newspaper representative. Gökçek completed his military service as a Reserve Officer at Güzelyurt in Northern Cyprus.
He supports Ankaraspor in Ankara. He is the honorary chairman of MKE Ankaragücü. Football and photography are the greatest hobbies of Gökçek, who is married with Nevin Gökçek, and has two sons, Ahmet and Osman. His son Osman Gökçek is the general editorial coordinator of the Turkish TV channel Beyaz TV.
After he returned from military service, Gökçek set up a business. Then, as a member of the Motherland Party, he acted from 1984 to 1989 as the Mayor of Keçiören, a district in Ankara, under the leadership of the Mayor of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Mehmet Altinsoy.