Sinan Oğan

Sinan Oğan (born 1 September 1967) is a Turkish politician who won a seat in the Turkish parliament in 2011 with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). He was the presidential candidate of ATA Alliance for the 2023 Turkish presidential election, which resulted in a second round. He finished in third place, therefore he was described as a potential kingmaker. He proceeded to support the People's Alliance candidate Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was subsequently elected president in the second round of the election.
Early life and education
Oğan was born on 1 September 1967 in Iğdır, Turkey, in a family of Azerbaijani ethnicity. He graduated from the Department of Management at Marmara University in 1989. From 1993 to 2000 Oğan worked as deputy dean at the Azerbaijan State Economic University. From 1994 to 1998, he also served as a representative of the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TİKA) of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an additional mission.
Professional career
In 2000, he returned to Turkey and started working at the Center for Eurasian Strategic Studies on the Caucasus region. He laid the foundation for the Center of International Relations and Strategic Analysis TURKSAM. Oğan's books include 'Azerbaijan', which was published by Turkic World Research Foundation Publications in 1992, 'Politics and Oligarchy', published in Russia in 2003, and 'Orange Revolutions', published in 2006. He has also published more than 500 articles and analyses. In 2009, Oğan obtained a PhD in international relations and political science from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
Political career
He was elected as Iğdır deputy from the Nationalist Movement Party in the 2011 Turkish general elections. He was a member of the Turkey-Albania and Türkiye-Niger Parliamentary Friendship Groups and the Secretary General of the Turkey-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Friendship Group.
He was expelled from the Nationalist Movement Party on August 26, 2015, but won a lawsuit and returned to the party, only to be expelled again on November 2, 2015. He returned to the party as a member in 2016.
Oğan organized opposition to the 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum resulting in his final expulsion from the Nationalist Movement Party. Prior to this, he was a challenger against Devlet Bahceli, leader of the MHP, where an internal revolt had occurred due to the party's poor showing in the November 2015 Turkish general election. Oğan argued that the MHP platform was against "constitutional change" and campaigned against Bahceli's support for the referendum. Oğan was subject to an alleged assassination attempt after his expulsion from the party, though the district governor of Samsun Province disputed this claim.
2023 presidential election
He was nominated as the ATA Alliance candidate for the 2023 Turkish Presidential election, acquiring the necessary 100,000 signatures to stand on March 26, 2023. He had 5.17% votes and ended the election in the 3rd place. On May 22, 2023, Oğan declared that he would support People's Alliance and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the runoff election, citing "stability" concerns rising from Erdoğan's parliamentary majority. One day before the announcement, the Justice Party leader Vecdet Öz announced that ATA Alliance has officially ended. After Erdoğan won in the runoff, Oğan was present next to Erdoğan during his balcony speech.
Personal life
Oğan is married and has two children. His father-in-law is Mehmet Ekici who served as the deputy chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party until 2011 when he had to resign from the party due to his involvement in a scandal. Aside from being a native Turkish speaker, Oğan has knowledge of English and Russian.
Awards and recognition
1992 Milliyet Newspaper Social Sciences Award
1993 Marmara University Academic Award of Excellence
Turkic World Service Award from Eurasia Economic Relations Association
Honor Award from the Federation of Oghuz Tribe Cultural Associations
2011, he was awarded the Azerbaijan State Medal.
2011 "Member of the Parliament (MP) of the Year" by the Telecommunication Workers Association
Electoral history
Parliamentary
Presidential
See also
2016 Nationalist Movement Party Extraordinary Congress
Ümit Özdağ
Sinan Oğan 2023 presidential campaign
Notes
References
External links
1967 births
Deputies of Iğdır
Living people
People from Iğdır
Turkish people of Azerbaijani descent
Members of the 24th Parliament of Turkey
Nationalist Movement Party politicians
Marmara University alumni
Moscow State Institute of International Relations alumni
Independent politicians