Ozdag, Umit

Umit Ozdag was born on March 3, 1961 in Tokyo. Umit’s mother, Gyunyul Ozdag, headed the PND’s female wing. The father of Umit Muzaffer Ozdag was a close associate of the founder of the PND Alparslan Türkesh , he also served on the committee of national unity, created after the coup of 1960 ^[1] .

Umit Ozdag graduated from the Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich. Then he received a master's degree.

Since 1986 he worked at the University of Gazi . In 1990 he graduated from the doctorate. In 1993, he received the position of assistant professor for work on the coup of 1960 and the period of the presidency of Adnan Menderes ^[2] . In 1994, Ozdag became editor of Avrasya Dosyası, a magazine dedicated to international relations and strategic research. In the 1980s, Umit Ozdag studied terrorism and ethnicity, then in 1995 he wrote works on the study of the regions of eastern and south-eastern Anatolia ^[3] .

In 1997-98, he studied and lectured on globalization and the problem of ethnicity at Towson University in the American city of Baltimore . In 1999, Ozdag created the Center for Eurasian Strategic Studies (ASAM), in 2000 - the Institute of Armenian Studies. Until 2004, Umit Ozdag served as president of ASAM and was a member of his board. In 2001, he received the title of professor, in 2005 he quit the University of Gazi and in the same year took the post of president of the 21st Century Institute of Turkey ^[4] .

Political career

In 2006, Umit Ozdag announced his desire to run for chairman of the IPA ^[5] . Two days later, his candidacy was rejected, and he himself was expelled from the party. In 2010, Ozdag recovered in the party, in 2011 he ran for the PND in parliament, but was not elected ^[6] .

At the 11th regular party congress of the PND, held in March 2015, Umit Ozdag was elected a member of the CEC of the party. In June of the same year he was elected to parliament, in November of the same year he was re-elected ^[7] . November 14, 2015 was elected deputy chairman of the party.

In February 2016, Ozdag resigned from the post of IPA vice-chairman and called for an extraordinary congress in connection with the defeat of the party in the November 2015 elections. On April 9, 2016, UMit Ozdag announced his desire to run for chair of the IPA ^{[8] [9]} .

Since 2017, is a member of the management of the Good Party.

Personal life

Comes from a family of Lak-Avar Muhajirs ^[10] . Married, one child ^[11] .