Meral Akşener

Meral Akşener was born on 18 July 1956, in the Gündoğdu neighbourhood of İzmit, Kocaeli. Her father Tahir Ömer and her mother Sıddıka are Balkan Turks from of Macedonia and Thrace. Her parents were among hundreds of thousands who left Greece to resettle in Turkey in 1923.[1]

She studied history at Istanbul University and she completed her post-graduate studies at the Social Sciences Institute of Marmara University, earning a Ph.D. in history. She then worked as a lecturer at Yıldız Technical University, Kocaeli University and Marmara University before entering politics.[3][4]

Akşener quit her post as a university department chair and entered politics with the 1994 municipal election, running under the True Path Party (DYP) as the mayoral candidate for Kocaeli. After becoming the chair of the women's branch of the DYP, she entered parliament in the 1995 general election as a DYP deputy of Istanbul Province. She became the first female Minister of the Interior in Turkish history in Necmettin Erbakan's Refah-Yol government between 8 November 1996 and 30 June 1997, replacing Mehmet Ağar, who resigned as a result of his involvement in the Susurluk scandal.[4] She was soon forced out of office after the 1997 military memorandum.[2]

In 1999 she was re-elected to parliament as a deputy of Kocaeli Province. On 4 July, 2001, Akşener left the DYP for the "innovative wing" of the Welfare party, led by Abdullah Gül and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[5][6] The innovative wing would soon found the Justice and Development Party (AKP) on 14 August. However she was dissatisfied with the continuation of the National Outlook ideology in the new party,[7] and joined the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in 3 November.[8] She immediately became chief advisor for political affairs for MHP chair Devlet Bahçeli.[9] However like most established parties, MHP was ejected from parliament when it wasn't able to clear the 10% threshold in the 2002 snap election, and Akşener lost her seat.

She was the MHP's candidate for the Istanbul mayoralty in the 2004 mayoral elections. Later, Akşener was rejoined parliament in 2007 representing Istanbul Province,[4] and was elected vice-speaker of the parliament alongside Güldal Mumcu, another female politician, serving as Turkey's first female vice-speaker since 1968.[4] She served in the Turkey-China Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group of the parliament.[10] She re-elected in the 2011 and June 2015 general elections. However, she was not nominated on the MHP's lists in the November 2015 snap election.[7]

MHP lost half of its MPs in that election, and Akşener demanded an extraordinary congress to oust Bahçeli as chairman. On September 8, 2016, she was expelled from the MHP and promised to start her own political party.

Under her leadership the Good Party was founded on 25 October, 2017. In her first address to her followers, Akşener stated she believed that Turkish democracy is "under threat" and the Good Party wants a free society and to fix the problems of the Turkish judiciary system.[11] Akşener further stated the "media should not be under pressure. Democratic participation, a strong parliament and the national will are irreplaceable. We will democratize the law on political parties in the of contemporary democratic principles and the criteria of the Venice Commission."[11] Aksener said that many who are joining her movement are young Turkish citizens who are "chafing under the restrictions" imposed by the government on public gatherings, freedom of expression, and constraints placed on the media.[1]

The Good Party only had five MPs on its foundation, not enough to form a parliamentary group to participate in an election. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), transferred 15 MPs to her party to allow her party to compete in the 2018 general election.[12] On 1 May, CHP, Good Party, Felicity Party, and Democrat Party announced the Nation Alliance as an electoral alliance to challenge the People's Alliance of AKP and MHP. She was Good Party's presidential candidate in the election and received 7.3% of the vote,[2][13] while her party captured 43 seats.

The Nation Alliance was continued for the 2019 local elections. After negotiations between Akşener and Kılıçdaroğlu, CHP and Good Party agreed to compete in separate provinces, and nominated Mansur Yavaş as a joint candidate for the Ankara mayoralty.[14] The two campaigned together during the election. While Good Party didn't win any mayoralties, Yavaş won Ankara, CHP took the cities of Istanbul, Bolu, Antalya, Mersin, Bilecik, Artvin, Ardahan and Kırşehir from AKP,[15] and Good Party was the third most voted party. Akşener condemned the decision to repeat the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality elections.[16] During the election campaign period, she toured all districts of Istanbul and supported Ekrem İmamoğlu in his campaign.

Akşener refused to run for president in the upcoming presidential elections, instead saying that she would run for prime minister once the opposition is able to return Turkey to a parliamentary system.

Meral Gürer married Tuncer Akşener, an engineer, in 1980. Their son, Fatih Akşener, was born 1984. Meral Akşener has been described as a devout Muslim who prays regularly.[17] She is known to her supporters as Asena, after the mythical she-wolf.[17]

She supports the football teams Galatasaray and İzmirspor.[18]

Akşener's frequently uses nicknames for various government aligned politicians, some of which stuck around. Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak has been nicknamed by Akşener as "Damat" (royal son-in-law) for his marriage to Esra Erdoğan.[19]

• Website of Good Party