Melih Gökçek
Encyclopedia
İbrahim Melih Gökçek is a Turkish
politician who has been the mayor of Ankara
since 1994. Between 1991-1994, he was a MP
. Gökçek has won municipal elections in 1994
, 1999
, 2004
, and 2009
.
, 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.
, a district in Ankara.
The following two years Melih Gökçek ran the Social Services and Child Protection Society as the General Director between the years 1989-1991. In 1991 he entered the parliament as Ankara MP for the Welfare Party
. While he was a MP during local elections in 1994
, he stood for the Mayor Office of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality and won the election. He was elected for the same duty again in 1999 as the candidate of the Virtue Party
and became the first person to be successively elected as the Mayor of Metropolitan Municipality for two times in the history of Ankara. He then joined the Justice and Development Party
and was elected for the same duty for third time in 2004 and even a fourth time in 2009 and thus became the first person to be successively elected as the Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality for four times in the history of Ankara. Gökçek is also the first mayor in the history of Ankara who was elected four times in a row.
These awards include the "European Flag of Honour" (2001) and the "European Plaque of Honour" (2003). On 10 October 2009 Gökçek received the "Europe Prize" by the President of the European Parliament, Luis Marie de Puig, at the European Parliament
in Strasbourg. It is the most prestigious award for cities and municipalities at a global level for examplary projects in the urban, social, cultural and international relations area.
The Greater Municipality of Ankara received three awards for its city projects by the OICC which has four prize categories during an award ceremony held in Doha in May 2010 with the participation of 170 representatives from 54 different countries. It won the first prizes in the “Urban and Regional Planning” as well as the “Landscaping” categories for the “North Ankara Urban Renewal Project” as well as the “Göksu Park” project and the second prize in the “Environment, Conservation and Sustainable Development” category for the “Mogan Park” project.
The municipality of Turkey's capital city Ankara was also presented with the World Water Organization's (WWO) "Best Practice Award" with its "Kizilirmak River Project" on 8 April 2010. WWO presented its "World Water Awards" during a ceremony held at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, USA, on the first day of a two-day international conference on "Water and Global Health". Speaking at the ceremony, WWO's board member Elaine Valdov said that Ankara had experienced a serious water shortage problem from 2007 to 2008, and "Kizilirmak River Rehabilitation Project" had been initiated under the guidance of Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek to solve the matter. "This water project has been a perfect example that displays the cooperation between public institutions and the private sector," Valdov said.
and declared that unilaterally taking such a decision is against law. Gökçek announced that he would make a referendum. The court eventually decided the referendum was unlawful. He has also closed the middle 4 lanes of a major road and constructed a recreation complex on them (called 'Gökkuşağı', Rainbow). As being placed in between the city's busiest lanes, the cafes and shops in the complex has never been put in use. The complex has cost 3.610 million Turkish liras, (approximately 3.11 million dollars), and has been sitting empty since 2005.
During 2007 water crisis of Ankara, he suggested the water be transported from Kızılırmak
. The faculty of Middle East Technical University
(METU)'s Department of Environmental Engineering tested the water and concluded that the samples contained toxins and were not suitable for drinking.
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
politician who has been the mayor of Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
since 1994. Between 1991-1994, he was a MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
. Gökçek has won municipal elections in 1994
Turkish local elections, 1994
Turkey held local elections on 27 March 1994.-Mayor of metropolitan municipality:-External links:*...
, 1999
Turkish local elections, 1999
-Results:-Mayor of metropolitan municipality:-External links:*...
, 2004
Turkish local elections, 2004
On March 28, 2004, Turks voted in nationwide municipal elections for the mayors of more than 3,000 cities and towns, as well as administrative council members for all eighty-one Turkish provinces....
, and 2009
Turkish local elections, 2009
Turkey held local elections on 29 March 2009. The overal winner was the ruling party Justice and Development Party, although the party saw a decline in its vote relative to the 2007 general election...
.
Early life
The Gökçek family, originally from HalfetiHalfeti
Halfeti is a small farming district on the east bank of the river Euphrates in Şanlıurfa Province in Turkey, 120 km from the city of Şanlıurfa. Population 33,467 .Most of the villages were submerged in the 1990s under the waters behind the dam on the Euphrates at Birecik...
, moved to Gaziantep
Gaziantep
Gaziantep , Ottoman Turkish: Ayintab) previously and still informally called Antep; ʻayn tāb is a city in southeast Turkey and amongst the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. The city is located 185 kilometres northeast of Adana and 127 kilometres by road north of Aleppo, Syria...
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
Gazi University
Gazi University is a public university primarily located in Ankara, Turkey.It was established in 1926 by Kemal Atatürk as Gazi Teacher Training Institute...
, College of Journalism, in Ankara. He worked as Parliament Correspondent and newspaper representative. Gökçek completed his military service as a Reserve Officer at Güzelyurt
Güzelyurt
Güzelyurt, formerly Gelveri, is a town and district of Aksaray Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, at a distance of from the city of Aksaray. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 16,836 of which 3,775 live in the town of Güzelyurt...
in Northern Cyprus.
Political career
After he returned from military service, Gökçek set up a business. Then from 1984 to 1989 he acted as the Mayor of KeçiörenKeçiören
Keçiören is a metropolitan district of Ankara Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, a crowded district in the northern part of the city of Ankara. According to 2010 census, population of the district center is 817,262 The district covers an area of , and the average elevation is...
, a district in Ankara.
The following two years Melih Gökçek ran the Social Services and Child Protection Society as the General Director between the years 1989-1991. In 1991 he entered the parliament as Ankara MP for the Welfare Party
Welfare Party
The Welfare Party was an Islamist political party in Turkey. It was founded by Ali Türkmen, Ahmet Tekdal and Necmettin Erbakan in Ankara in 1983 as heir to two earlier parties, Milli Nizam Partisi and Milli Selamet Partisi , which were banned from politics...
. While he was a MP during local elections in 1994
Turkish local elections, 1994
Turkey held local elections on 27 March 1994.-Mayor of metropolitan municipality:-External links:*...
, he stood for the Mayor Office of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality and won the election. He was elected for the same duty again in 1999 as the candidate of the Virtue Party
Virtue Party
Virtue Party was an Islamist political party established in December 1998 in Turkey. It was found unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court and then banned in June 2001, for violating the secularist articles of the Constitution...
and became the first person to be successively elected as the Mayor of Metropolitan Municipality for two times in the history of Ankara. He then joined the Justice and Development Party
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...
and was elected for the same duty for third time in 2004 and even a fourth time in 2009 and thus became the first person to be successively elected as the Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality for four times in the history of Ankara. Gökçek is also the first mayor in the history of Ankara who was elected four times in a row.
Personal life
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.Achievements and Awards
Ankara received certain international prizes during his office during Gökçek's administration.These awards include the "European Flag of Honour" (2001) and the "European Plaque of Honour" (2003). On 10 October 2009 Gökçek received the "Europe Prize" by the President of the European Parliament, Luis Marie de Puig, at the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
in Strasbourg. It is the most prestigious award for cities and municipalities at a global level for examplary projects in the urban, social, cultural and international relations area.
The Greater Municipality of Ankara received three awards for its city projects by the OICC which has four prize categories during an award ceremony held in Doha in May 2010 with the participation of 170 representatives from 54 different countries. It won the first prizes in the “Urban and Regional Planning” as well as the “Landscaping” categories for the “North Ankara Urban Renewal Project” as well as the “Göksu Park” project and the second prize in the “Environment, Conservation and Sustainable Development” category for the “Mogan Park” project.
The municipality of Turkey's capital city Ankara was also presented with the World Water Organization's (WWO) "Best Practice Award" with its "Kizilirmak River Project" on 8 April 2010. WWO presented its "World Water Awards" during a ceremony held at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, USA, on the first day of a two-day international conference on "Water and Global Health". Speaking at the ceremony, WWO's board member Elaine Valdov said that Ankara had experienced a serious water shortage problem from 2007 to 2008, and "Kizilirmak River Rehabilitation Project" had been initiated under the guidance of Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek to solve the matter. "This water project has been a perfect example that displays the cooperation between public institutions and the private sector," Valdov said.
Criticism
In 2003 Gökçek tried to ban the pedestrian crossing in the city's busiest crossroads, demanding that pedestrians walk through the underpasses. Activists protested the city center being closed off completely from pedestriansand declared that unilaterally taking such a decision is against law. Gökçek announced that he would make a referendum. The court eventually decided the referendum was unlawful. He has also closed the middle 4 lanes of a major road and constructed a recreation complex on them (called 'Gökkuşağı', Rainbow). As being placed in between the city's busiest lanes, the cafes and shops in the complex has never been put in use. The complex has cost 3.610 million Turkish liras, (approximately 3.11 million dollars), and has been sitting empty since 2005.
During 2007 water crisis of Ankara, he suggested the water be transported from Kızılırmak
Kizilirmak
-Geographical names in Turkey:* Kızılırmak River is the longest river of Anatolia* Kızılırmak, Çankırı, a district of Çankırı Province, Turkey...
. The faculty of Middle East Technical University
Middle East Technical University
Middle East Technical University is a public technical university located in Ankara, Turkey...
(METU)'s Department of Environmental Engineering tested the water and concluded that the samples contained toxins and were not suitable for drinking.