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Kadir Topbaş (born January 8, 1945 in Artvin) is a Turkish architect, right-wing regional politician and the current mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in Turkey.

[edit] Biography

He was born on January 8, 1945 in Altıparmak village of Yusufeli district in Artvin Province, Turkey. Kadir Topbaş moved in 1946 with his family to Istanbul. He earned a PhD in architectural history from Istanbul University following his education of theology in 1972 and architecture in 1974. After working as preacher in Edirne, teacher and freelance architect in İstanbul, he served between 1994 and 1998 as advisor to mayor Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the restoration and decoration of palaces and other historical buildings in Istanbul.

[edit] Political career

He entered politics as member of the religious oriented Milli Selamet Partisi (MSP) and became deputy mayor of Beyoğlu district in İstanbul, where he lives. Later on, Topbaş ran twice for the deputy of Artvin province in the parliament, first in 1977 from the MSP and then in 1987 from Refah Partisi (RP) without success. In 1999, he was elected mayor of Beyoğle district from the Fazilet Partisi (FP). In the 2004 regional elections, Kadir Topbaş ran for the post of mayor of İstanbul from the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) and won. He is mayor of Istanbul since March 28, 2004. In November 2007 he became co-president of United Cities and Local Governments and was longlisted for the 2008 World Mayor award. After the Turkish general local elections held in March 29, 2009 Kadir Topbaş was reelected as the mayor of İstanbul metropolitan area.

He is married and has two sons and a daughter.

[edit] External links

Political offices
Preceded by Ali Müfit Gürtuna	Mayor of İstanbul 2004–present	Succeeded by incumbent