Kadir Topbaş

Turkish politician (1945–2021)

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.

He was born on 8 January 1945, in Altıparmak village of Yusufeli district in Artvin Province. Kadir Topbaş moved to Istanbul in 1946 with his family.

Topbaş entered politics as member of the religious oriented Milli Selamet Partisi (MSP). He became co president of United Cities and Local Governments in November 2007 and was longlisted for the 2008 World Mayor award. Kadir Topbaş was re elected as the mayor of İstanbul metropolitan area in 2009 Turkish general local elections, passing the runner up Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, former leader of Republican People's Party. Topbaş was appointed President of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey in 2009. 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. 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". 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. 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". 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. Mevlüt Uysal, the district mayor of Başakşehir since 2009, was elected as his successor by the Council of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality on 28 September. In November 2020, Topbaş was hospitalized for COVID 19 during the COVID 19 pandemic in Turkey. He died on 13 February 2021, due to multiple organ failure amidst being treated for COVID 19 complications.

Ribbon bar Award or decoration Country Date Place Note Ref. Order of Cultural Merit 12 September 2014 Seoul