İdris Bal (born 25 April 1968 in

Altıntaş Altıntaş is a town and a district of Kütahya Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. History Altıntaş was previously known as "Kurtköy". The district's name means "goldstone" in Turkish and was given due to the large stone deposits, es ...

Kütahya Kütahya () (historically, Cotyaeum or Kotyaion, Greek: Κοτύαιον) is a city in western Turkey which lies on the Porsuk river, at 969 metres above sea level. It is inhabited by some 578,640 people (2022 estimate). The region of Kütahya has ...

) is a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities ...

politician and academic who led the

Democratic Progress Party The Democratic Progress Party ( Turkish: ''Demokratik Gelişim Partisi,'' abbreviated DGP) was a political party in Turkey which adhered to liberal conservatism. It was founded by Kütahya Member of Parliament İdris Bal on 4 November 2014. Bal ha ...

(DGP) between 4 November 2014 and 31 March 2015. He serves as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

Kütahya Province Kütahya Province ( tr, ) is a province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is 11,875 km in size, and the population is 571,554 (2014). In 1990, Kütahya had a population of 578,000. The neighboring provinces are Bursa to the northwest, ...

, having been first elected to the

Grand National Assembly Great National Assembly or Grand National Assembly may refer to: * Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia, an assembly of Romanian delegates that declared the unification of Transylvania and Romania * Great National Assembly (Socialist Republic of R ...

in the 2011 general election from the Justice and Development Party (AKP). He is seen as a close supporter of

Fethullah Gülen Muhammed Fethullah Gülen (born 27 April 1941) is a Turkish Islamic religious scholar, scholar, preacher, and a one-time opinion leader, as de facto leader of the Gülen movement. Gülen is designated an influential Neo-Ottomanism, neo-Ottoman ...

, having left the AKP following a dispute between AKP Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 t ...

and Gülen's Cemaat movement in 2013. He founded the DGP in 2014, which is seen as the political force of Gülenism in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. He is a graduate from the Faculty of Political Studies at

İstanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

and pursued a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' ...

at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He was a visiting academic at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and a lecturer at

Başkent University Başkent University ( tr, Başkent Üniversitesi) is a private university in Ankara, Turkey. The university was founded on 13 January 1994 by Professor Dr. Mehmet Haberal. The University center is located in Ankara and also has Medical and R ...

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...

. He is married with six children and speaks fluent

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

. On 31 March, Bal resigned from his party and launched an attack against the Gülen Movement, accusing it and the government of censorship.

References

1968 births Living people Istanbul University alumni Leaders of political parties in Turkey Members of the 24th Parliament of Turkey {{Turkey-politician-stub