Kadir Topbaş

Kadir Topbaş (8 January 1945 – 13 February 2021) was a Turkish architect, businessperson and politician who served as Mayor of Istanbul from 2004 to 2017.

Kadir Topbaş
Mayor of Istanbul
In office
28 March 2004 – 22 September 2017
Preceded byAli Müfit Gürtuna
Succeeded byMevlüt Uysal
Mayor of Beyoğlu
In office
18 April 1999 – 28 March 2004
Preceded byNusret Bayraktar
Succeeded byAhmet Misbah Demircan
Personal details
Born(1945-01-08)8 January 1945
Yusufeli, Artvin, Turkey
Died13 February 2021(2021-02-13) (aged 76)
Istanbul, Turkey
Political partyJustice and Development Party (AKP)
SpouseÖzleyiş Topbaş
Children3
Alma materIstanbul University
Awards Bogwan Order of Cultural Merit (2014)

Biography

He was born on 8 January 1945, in Altıparmak village of Yusufeli district in Artvin Province.[1] Kadir Topbaş moved to Istanbul in 1946 with his family.[1] He earned a PhD in architectural history from Istanbul University following his education of theology at Marmara University in 1972 and architecture at Mimar Sinan University in 1974.[1] After working as preacher in Edirne, teacher and freelance architect in İstanbul, he served between 1994 and 1998, as advisor to then-mayor of Istanbul Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the restoration and decoration of palaces and other historical buildings in Istanbul.[1]

Topbaş was also the owner of the Turkish cuisine restaurant chain, Saray Muhallebicisi.[2]

Political career

Topbaş entered politics as member of the religious oriented Milli Selamet Partisi (MSP).[1] Later on, Topbaş ran twice for the deputy of Artvin province in the parliament, first in 1977 from the MSP and then in 1987 from Refah Partisi (RP) without success.[1] In 1999, he was elected mayor of Beyoğlu district from the Fazilet Partisi (FP).[1] 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.[3] He became co-president of United Cities and Local Governments in November 2007 and was longlisted for the 2008 World Mayor award.[4] Kadir Topbaş was re-elected as the mayor of İstanbul metropolitan area in 2009 Turkish general local elections, passing the runner-up Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, current leader of Republican People's Party.[5]

Topbaş was appointed President of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey in 2009.[6] During the Gezi Park protests in mid-2013, he stressed that the redevelopment plans for Taksim Gezi Park were formulated straight from Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and not the municipal authorities.[7] 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".[8] 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.[8] Topbaş's son-in-law was arrested in the aftermath of the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, for supposed ties to Gülen movement. Because of this, Topbaş himself reportedly lost favour in the AKP, but he refused to quit the party.[9] 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".[10]

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.[9] He resigned as the mayor of Istanbul metropolitan area on 22 September 2017, without revealing a particular political reason.[9][11] Mevlüt Uysal, the district mayor of Başakşehir since 2009, was elected as his successor by the Council of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality on 28 September.[12]

Kadir Topbaş Chowk in Lahore, Pakistan inaugurated by Kadir Topbaş, The Mayor of Istanbul (Turkey) on 12 March 2012

Personal life and death

He was married and had two sons and a daughter.[13]

In November 2020, Topbaş was hospitalized for COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey.[14] He died on 13 February 2021, due to multiple organ failure amidst being treated for COVID-19 complications.[15][16]

Awards
Ribbon bar Award or decoration Country Date Place Note Ref.
Order of Cultural Merit  South Korea 12 September 2014 Seoul [17][18]

References
  1. "Kadir Topbaş Kimdir ? - Kadir Topbaş Hayatı ve Biyografisi". www.haberler.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  2. "Saray Muhallebicisi'nin bir şubesi daha kapandı İBB eski Başkanı Kadir Topbaş sahibi". www.internethaber.com (in Turkish). 21 September 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  3. "Former Mayor of Istanbul Kadir Topbaş dies of COVID-19 aged 76". Daily Sabah. 13 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  4. "World Mayor: Comments on Kadir Topbas, Mayor of Istanbul". www.worldmayor.com. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  5. "Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu gets COVID-19 jab". Daily Sabah. 12 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  6. "Dr. KADİR TOPBAŞ, PRESIDENT OF UCLG, WAS RE-ELECTED PRESIDENT OF UNION OF MUNICIPALITIES OF TURKEY". arsiv.uclg-mewa.org. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  7. Arango, Tim (13 June 2013). "Turkish Protesters Say Talks Lead to a Tentative Agreement". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  8. Finkel, Andrew (23 July 2013). "The Hanging-by-a-Thread Gardens". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  9. "Istanbul's mayor announces his sudden resignation". Associated Press News. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  10. Tharoor, Ishaan (21 July 2016). "Turkish mayor calls for a 'graveyard for traitors' behind failed coup". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  11. "İBB Başkanı Kadir Topbaş istifa etti". Cumhuriyet.
  12. "İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi'nin yeni başkanı Mevlüt Uysal". NTV (in Turkish). 28 September 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  13. "Former Istanbul mayor dies at 76 - Turkey News". Hürriyet Daily News. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  14. "Koronavirüs tedavisi gören Kadir Topbaş'ın oğlundan açıklama". CNN Türk (in Turkish). 25 December 2020.
  15. "Kadir Topbaş yaşamını yitirdi". Cumhuriyet (in Turkish). 13 February 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  16. "Kadir Topbaş hayatını kaybetti (Kadir Topbaş kimdir?)" (in Turkish). NTV. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  17. "Başkan Topbaş'a "Kore Devlet Nişanı" verildi" (in Turkish). Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  18. "Kadir Topbaş'a Kore devlet nişanı verildi". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 13 September 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
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