Cemal Çavdarlı
Encyclopedia
Cemal Çavdarlı, born in Emirdağ
(Turkey
) on 15 March 1966, is a binational Turkish-Belgian politician, formerly active in the Socialist Party – Differently (SP.A), since May 2010 in the Lijst Dedecker (LDD), a conservative liberal party and since April 2011 in the Islamic conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP)
in Turkey.
İmam Hatip school
(vocational high school for would-be imams) and came back in Belgium as an imam and religion teacher paid by the official Turkish Diyanet. He also studied education at the Ghent University
. He was elected at the Belgian Muslim General Assembly on 13 December 1998, and became a member of the Muslim Executive of Belgium
a few months later.
, who became a minister. He was candidate at the next federal elections in 2007
on the Senate list and was not elected.
During his term as a Belgian MP, he went back to Turkey in April 2005 for a few weeks to make his shortened (for migrants) military service. When this was made public, there was a small controversy about the loyalty of dual citizens towards the Belgian State.
he affiliated himself to the LDD and was put on the third place of that list for the West Flanders electoral circle. The LDD suffered a heavy defeat at these elections, only its president was elected in East Flanders
, it won no seat elsewhere.
for the upcoming (12 June 2011) parliamentary elections in Turkey
in the Eskişehir Province
. At the previous elections in 2007
, the AKP liste won three of the six seats in this province. The party did not win more seats in 2011 and Cemal Çavdarlı was not elected. Out of five candidates from the Turkish emigration, only the Swiss Fazilet Dağcı Çığlık, who had already been elected in Erzerum in 2007 for the AKP, was elected, but neither the Belgian Cemal Çavdarlı nor the Germans (all from Köln
) Turgut Öker (leader of the German Alevi
Association and independent candidate in Istanbul
for the Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party
), Metin Keskin (an architect and CHP candidate in the province of Sivas) and Aydın Yardımcı (CEO of Aydin, a meat company in Köln, former member of the right-wing ANAP Party
, Democratic Party candidate in Ankara
).
Emirdag
Emirdağ is a town and district of Afyonkarahisar Province in Turkey, between the city of Afyon and Eskişehir. It covers an area of 2,009 km², and the population is 42,111 of which 19,991 live in the town of Emirdağ itself. The mayor is Cengiz Pala .The Emirdağ Mountains rise steeply behind...
(Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
) on 15 March 1966, is a binational Turkish-Belgian politician, formerly active in the Socialist Party – Differently (SP.A), since May 2010 in the Lijst Dedecker (LDD), a conservative liberal party and since April 2011 in the Islamic conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP)
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...
in Turkey.
1963-2003 - Life before political career
Born in Turkey, he came in Belgium with his mother in 1975, his father had earlier migrated to France in 1969, then to Belgium in 1972. He went back to Turkey to study at the EskişehirEskisehir
Eskişehir is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. According to the 2009 census, the population of the city is 631,905. The city is located on the banks of the Porsuk River, 792 m above sea level, where it overlooks the fertile Phrygian Valley. In the nearby...
İmam Hatip school
Imam Hatip school
In Turkey, an Imam Hatip school ) is a secondary education institution. As the name suggests, they were originally founded in lieu of a vocational school to train government employed imams; after madrasas in Turkey were abolished by the Unification of Education Act as a part of Atatürk's...
(vocational high school for would-be imams) and came back in Belgium as an imam and religion teacher paid by the official Turkish Diyanet. He also studied education at the Ghent University
Ghent University
Ghent University is a Dutch-speaking public university located in Ghent, Belgium. It is one of the larger Flemish universities, consisting of 32,000 students and 7,100 staff members. The current rector is Paul Van Cauwenberge.It was established in 1817 by King William I of the Netherlands...
. He was elected at the Belgian Muslim General Assembly on 13 December 1998, and became a member of the Muslim Executive of Belgium
Muslim Executive of Belgium
De Belgische Moslim Executief or L'Exécutif des musulmans de Belgique is the official Muslim interlocutor of the Belgian federal government for the implementation of the July 19, 1974 law recognizing Islam as one of the subsidized religious or secular communities in Belgium according to the law...
a few months later.
2003-2007 - Belgian Socialist member of Parliament
On 12 July 2003 he was sworn in at the Belgian Chamber of Representatives as a substitute to the elected SP.A MP Freya Van Den BosscheFreya Van den Bossche
Freya Van den Bossche is a Belgian, Flemish politician and daughter of prominent former Belgian politician Luc Van den Bossche. She is member of the SP.a political party, and she was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Budget and Consumer Protection in the Belgian federal government...
, who became a minister. He was candidate at the next federal elections in 2007
Belgian general election, 2007
The 2007 Belgian general election took place on Sunday 10 June 2007. Voters went to the polls in order to elect new members for the Chamber of Representatives and Senate.Eligible voters were Belgian citizens 18 years and older...
on the Senate list and was not elected.
During his term as a Belgian MP, he went back to Turkey in April 2005 for a few weeks to make his shortened (for migrants) military service. When this was made public, there was a small controversy about the loyalty of dual citizens towards the Belgian State.
2010 - Unsuccessful Conservative candidate for the Belgian Parliament
When he was informed that he would - as in 2007 - not be put on an eligible place on the SP.A list for the 2010 federal electionsBelgian general election, 2010
General elections were held in Belgium on 13 June 2010. After the fall of the previous government over the withdrawal of Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats from the government the King dissolved the legislature and called new elections...
he affiliated himself to the LDD and was put on the third place of that list for the West Flanders electoral circle. The LDD suffered a heavy defeat at these elections, only its president was elected in East Flanders
East Flanders
East Flanders is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and in Belgium on the provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant , of Hainaut and of West Flanders...
, it won no seat elsewhere.
2011 - Islamic conservative candidate for the Turkish Parliament
In April 2011, he was officially announced as fourth candidate on the list of the Islamic conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP)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...
for the upcoming (12 June 2011) parliamentary elections in Turkey
Turkish general election, 2011
Turkey's 17th general election was held on 12 June 2011 to elect 550 new members of Grand National Assembly. They were Turkey's first non-early elections in 34 years.-Background:...
in the Eskişehir Province
Eskisehir Province
Eskişehir Province is a province in northwestern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Bilecik to the northwest, Kütahya to the west, Afyon to the southwest, Konya to the south, Ankara to the east, and Bolu to the north. The provincial capital is Eskişehir. Most of the province is laid down in...
. At the previous elections in 2007
Turkish general election, 2007
Turkey's 16th general election was held on July 22, 2007 and resulted in a resounding victory for the incumbent Justice and Development Party...
, the AKP liste won three of the six seats in this province. The party did not win more seats in 2011 and Cemal Çavdarlı was not elected. Out of five candidates from the Turkish emigration, only the Swiss Fazilet Dağcı Çığlık, who had already been elected in Erzerum in 2007 for the AKP, was elected, but neither the Belgian Cemal Çavdarlı nor the Germans (all from Köln
KOLN
KOLN, digital channel 10, is the CBS affiliate in Lincoln, Nebraska. It operates a satellite station, KGIN, on digital channel 11 in Grand Island. KGIN repeats all KOLN programming, but airs separate commercials...
) Turgut Öker (leader of the German Alevi
Alevi
The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....
Association and independent candidate in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
for the Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party
Peace and Democracy Party
The Peace and Democracy Party ) is a political party in the Republic of Turkey. It succeeded the Democratic Society Party following the closure of the latter party for its alleged connections with the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the EU.The BDP has observer status in the...
), Metin Keskin (an architect and CHP candidate in the province of Sivas) and Aydın Yardımcı (CEO of Aydin, a meat company in Köln, former member of the right-wing ANAP Party
Motherland Party (Turkey)
The Motherland Party, was a political party in Turkey. It was founded in 1983 by Turgut Özal. It was merged to Democratic Party in October 2009...
, Democratic Party candidate in 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....
).