Özcan Mutlu (born January 10, 1968) is a

Turkish-German Turks in Germany, also referred to as German Turks and Turkish Germans ( or ''Deutschtürken''; , also known as ''Gurbetçiler'' or ''Almancılar''), are ethnic Turkish people living in Germany. These terms are also used to refer to German-born ...

former politician from the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

. In January 2025, he left the party because of "toxic power structures" in the Berlin regional association of the Greens.

Early years

Mutlu has lived in the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

district of

Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Berlin-Mitte, Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in ...

since 1973. He received his naturalization in 1990.

Education

He completed his training as an information electrician at

Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...

from September 1985 to February 1989. Afterwards, he studied electrical engineering at the Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin from 1989 to 1993 and graduated as an engineer of communication and electronics. He combined an internship with a stay abroad in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, (USA). After this, he worked in a telecommunication company as an engineer from 1993 to 1999.

Political career

Mutlu joined the Green Party in 1990, and was elected into the district assembly of Kreuzberg. He entered the regional parliament

Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin The of Berlin (House of Representatives) () is the state parliament ('' Landtag'') of Berlin, Germany according to the city-state's constitution. In 1993, the parliament moved from Rathaus Schöneberg to its present house on Niederkirchnerst ...

in 1999 representing the district

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg () is the second Boroughs of Berlin, borough of Berlin, formed in 2001 by merging the former East Berlin borough of Friedrichshain and the former West Berlin borough of Kreuzberg. The historic Oberbaum Bridge, formerly ...

. He was re-elected in 2006 and 2011. During this period, he served in a number of parliamentary commissions, responsible particularly for policies of education, integration and migration as well as policies for Europe and Turkey. Mutlu was nominated by his party for the 2009 federal election; however, he missed the entry into the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

. Following the 2013 federal election, Mutlu won a seat in the Bundestag. He was one of the eleven politicians of Turkish descent who entered the federal parliament, including seven women. In parliament, he served on the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment. On the committee, he was his parliamentary group’s

rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...

on citizen participation.

Other activities

* Bilingual German-Turkish Europe School, Founding Member * Sister city agreement between Kreuzberg and

Kadıköy Kadıköy () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district on the Asian side of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 25 km2, and its population is 467,919 (2023). It is a large and populous area in the Asian si ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Founding Member * German Marshall Fund, Marshall-Memorial Fellow * Stiftung Lesen, Member of the Board of Trustees * Young leader of the Atlantik-Brücke (2000)

Controversy

When Mutlu voted in a favor of a symbolic resolution in 2016 that remembered and condemned the 1915

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

by Ottoman forces, which Turkey refuses to acknowledge, he became one of eleven MPs of Turkish origin who received increased police protection and further security measures for both their professional and private activities. Also, Germany's foreign ministry warned him against travelling to Turkey because his safety could not be guaranteed after statements by Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan suggesting that German lawmakers of Turkish origin had "tainted blood".Death threats amid Germany-Turkey 'genocide' row
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'', June 6, 2016.

Personal life

Mutlu is married and has two children.

References

External links

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutlu, Ozcan 1968 births Living people Turkish emigrants to West Germany German politicians of Turkish descent Naturalized citizens of Germany People from Kelkit Technische Universität Berlin alumni Turkish electrical engineers Members of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin Members of the Bundestag for Berlin Members of the Bundestag 2013–2017 Members of the Bundestag for Alliance 90/The Greens Politicians from Berlin