Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat
{{Short description|Turkish politician (1943–2019)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat
| native_name =
| image = Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat 2015-March (cropped).jpg
| imagesize =
| alt =
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| office = Member of the Grand National Assembly
| term_start = 7 June 2015
| term_end = 7 July 2018
| constituency = Mersin (June 2015, Nov 2015)
| term_start1 = 18 April 1999
| term_end1 = 12 June 2011
| constituency1 = Adıyaman (1999)
Mersin (2002)
Adana (2007)
| office2 = Deputy leader of the Justice and Development Party
| term_start2 = 10 August 2001
| term_end2 = 7 November 2008
| leader2 = Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
| predecessor2 = Position established
| successor2 = Abdulkadir Aksu
| birth_date = {{birth date|1943|08|08|df=y}}
| birth_place = Kahta, Adıyaman, Turkey
| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|07|11|1943|08|08|df=y}}
| death_place =
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| citizenship =
| nationality = Turkish
| party = Virtue Party (FP) {{small|1999-2001}}
Justice and Development Party (AKP) {{small|2001-2014}}
Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) {{small|2015-2019}}
| alma_mater = Ankara University, Law School
| occupation = Politician
| profession = Lawyer
| committees =
| portfolio =
| religion =
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}}
Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat (8 August 1943 – 11 July 2019) was a Turkish politician of Kurdish origin who was one of the founders of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2001. He served as a Member of Parliament for the Grand National Assembly from 1999 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2018 as a member of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).
Early life
Fırat was born in the district of Kahta in Adyaman on 8 August 1943. His grandfather, Hacı Bedir Fırat, was an MP during the first, second and third Parliaments of the Turkish Republic, serving from Malatya for the first and second and from Kars for the third Parliament. His uncle Hüseyin Fehmi Fırat was a Democratic Party politician who also served as an MP for three terms. His cousin, Mehmet Sırrı Turanlı, was an MP for Adıyaman in the 11th Parliament and was later also a senator.
In Kurdish, the name
After graduation, Fırat served as a freelance lawyer, a farmer and an export tradesman. He was a member of the Executive Board of the Mediterranean Exporters Association.
Political career
=Felicity Party, 1999-2001=
Fırat was elected as a Member of Parliament for Adyaman from the Islamist orientated Virtue Party (FP) in the 1999 general election. The party saw a split between traditionalist Islamists and moderate conservatives over the course of the Parliament, with a party leadership election contested by the most modern Abdullah Gül and traditionalist incumbent Recai Kutan yielding a victory for Kutan. In the 2000 presidential election, Fırat put his name forward as a candidate, but withdrew and was defeated by cross-party candidate Ahmet Necdet Sezer.{{cite web|url=http://webarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/2000/03/29/193089.asp|title=Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat Baba'ya bir rakip daha|date=29 March 2000 |publisher=}} The party was closed down in 2001 by the Constitutional Court for violating state secularism, after which traditionalist MPs formed the Felicity Party (SP) while moderate conservatives formed the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Fırat was one of the founding members of the AKP and joined the party after the FP's dissolution.
=Justice and Development Party, 2001-14=
As one of the founders of the AKP, Fırat served as a Deputy leader of the party under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He was elected in the 2002 general election as a Member of Parliament for Mersin and re-elected in the 2007 general election as a Member of Parliament for Adana. He did not contest the 2011 general election. Despite the AKP forming a majority government in both 2002 and 2007, Fırat was not made a Minister despite being one of the AKP's founders. In an interview given to The New York Times in 2008, Fırat caused controversy after criticising Atatürk for his secular revolutions for causing a "trauma" within society.{{cite web|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/politika/akpli_firat_ataturk_devrimleri_travma_yaratti-884639|title=AKP'li Fırat: Atatürk devrimleri travma yarattı|publisher=}}
Serving as the party's deputy leader, Fırat resigned from this role in November 2008 after accusations of corruption during a live debate with Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the parliamentary group leader of the Republican People's Party.{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/10310143.asp|title=Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat görevden alındı|date=7 November 2008 |publisher=}}{{Cite web |url=http://arsiv.ntv.com.tr/news/465175.asp |title=AK Parti'de Fırat istifa etti |access-date=2015-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702200317/http://arsiv.ntv.com.tr/news/465175.asp |archive-date=2015-07-02 |url-status=dead }} He resigned from the AKP completely on 27 July 2014, positing his decision on Facebook.{{cite web|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/firat_ak_partiden_istifa_etti-1204176|title=Fırat, AK Parti'den istifa etti|publisher=}}
=Peoples' Democratic Party, 2015-2019=
Fırat defected from the AKP to the HDP in February 2015, with the intention of running for Parliament from Mersin as a HDP candidate.{{cite web|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/politika/akpnin_kurucusu_hdpye_katildi_mersinden_aday_adayi_oldu-1301406|title=AKP'nin kurucusu HDP'ye katıldı, Mersin'den aday adayı oldu|publisher=}} He claimed that the HDP could become the main opposition party in future elections. His defection was one of the high-profile defections that the AKP had suffered to the HDP, which was perceived to be taking large portions of the AKP vote in the Kurdish south-east of Turkey.{{cite web|url=http://www.sondakika.com/haber/haber-ak-parti-nin-kurucu-ismi-firat-hdp-nin-mersin-7166402/|title=HDP'nin Aday Listesinde Dikkat Çeken İki İsim|date=7 April 2015|publisher=}} He was elected to Parliament in the June 2015 general election after his party succeeded in surpassing the 10% election threshold needed to gain seats in Parliament. He was subsequently put forward by the HDP as their candidate for Parliamentary Speaker in the June–July 2015 speaker elections,{{cite web|url=http://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/hdpnin-meclis-baskani-adayi-dengir-mir-mehmet-firat,7w2kxQ8HNku87FKhiDgGtQ|title=HDP'nin adayı belli oldu|date=22 June 2015|publisher=}} but was eliminated in the third round.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailysabah.com/legislation/2015/07/01/ak-party-candidate-ismet-yilmaz-becomes-turkeys-new-parliament-speaker|title=AK Party candidate İsmet Yılmaz becomes Turkey's new Parliament Speaker|website=Daily Sabah|date=July 2015|publisher=}} He died on 11 July 2019, aged 75, from lung cancer.{{Cite web |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2019/07/12/former-turkish-deputy-dengir-mir-mehmet-firat-dies-aged-76 |title=Former Turkish deputy Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat dies aged 76 |website=DailySabah |date=12 July 2019 |access-date=2019-07-12}}
See also
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- [http://www.radikal.com.tr/index/dengir-mir-mehmet-firat/ Collection of all relevant news items at Radikal.com]
- [http://www.haberler.com/dengir-mir-mehmet-firat/ Collection of all relevant news items at Haberler.com]
- [http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/index/dengir-mir-mehmet-firat Collection of all relevant news items at Hürriyet]
- [http://www.sondakika.com/dengir-mir-mehmet-firat/ Collection of all relevant news items at Sondakika.com]
- [http://www.milliyet.com.tr/dengir-mir-mehmet-firat/ Collection of all relevant news items at Milliyet]
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Category:Turkish Kurdish people
Category:Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey) politicians
Category:Justice and Development Party (Turkey) politicians
Category:Deaths from lung cancer in Turkey
Category:Members of the 25th Parliament of Turkey
Category:Members of the 23rd Parliament of Turkey
Category:Members of the 22nd Parliament of Turkey
Category:Members of the 21st Parliament of Turkey