Ahmed Demir Dogan (; born 29 March 1954) is a Turkish Bulgarian oligarch and politician who founded the DPS party in 1990 and remained its leader until he stepped down in 2013.

Life and career

Dogan was born in Pchelarovo to Demire Dogan from Drandar and an unknown father from

Pchelarovo, Dobrich Province Pchelarovo is a village in General Toshevo Municipality, Dobrich Province, in northeastern Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans dir ...

. In 1981 he completed his studies in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Sofia University Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" () is a public university, public research university in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Bulgaria. Founded on 1 October 1888, the edifice of the university was constr ...

and in 1986 earned the then equivalent of a doctoral degree after completing a dissertation on the theme of "Philosophical analysis of the principle of symmetry". He is the founder of the

Movement for Rights and Freedoms The Movement for Rights and Freedoms ( ''Dvizhenie za prava i svobodi'', ДПС, DPS; , HÖH) is a political party in Bulgaria with a support base among ethnic minority communities. Until 2024 it was a member of the Liberal International and ...

(DPS), a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

party that claims to represent the interests of the

Turkish minority in Bulgaria Bulgarian Turks (; ) are ethnic Turkish people from Bulgaria. According to the 2021 census, there were 508,375 Bulgarians of Turkish descent, roughly 8.4% of the population, making them the country's largest ethnic minority. Bulgarian Turks ...

. In September 2007, Dogan's name was listed on an official report of communist-era secret police collaborators. According to the report, Dogan was a paid agent of the Committee for State Security from August 1974 until March 1988. In October 2010, the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) in Sofia acquitted Dogan of corruption in a case brought by the Parliamentary Commission regarding consulting fees paid in 2008 and 2009 in respect of hydro-power projects.

2013 attack

On 19 January 2013, as Dogan addressed a large audience from a podium, Oktay Enimehmedov ran onto the stage. Enimehmedov, a Bulgarian national of Turkish descent, pointed a

gas pistol A gas pistol is a non-lethal weapon, non-lethal weapon used for self-defense and other purposes. It is typically a close-to-exact replica or conversion of a traditional handgun made to be able to fire Blank (cartridge), blanks or tear gas cartri ...

within of Dogan's head, but did not discharge the firearm. It was reported that the gun contained

blank cartridge A blank is a firearm cartridge that, when fired, does not shoot a projectile like a bullet or pellet, but generates a muzzle flash and an explosive sound ( muzzle report) like a normal gunshot would. Firearms may need to be modified to allow a ...

s, and that one of the cartridges contained

pepper spray Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, mace, or capsicum spray is a Tear gas, lachrymator (tear gas) product containing as its active ingredient the chemical compound capsaicin, which irritates the eyes with burning ...

. Had the gun been fired, it would have caused non-lethal injuries. Dogan grappled with Enimehmedov, who was then tackled and wrestled to the ground by security guards and delegates. He was beaten and kicked for several minutes before being arrested. In February 2014, Enimehmedov received a sentence of three-and-a-half years' imprisonment.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dogan, Ahmed 1954 births Living people People from General Toshevo Shooting survivors Bulgarian people of Turkish descent Movement for Rights and Freedoms politicians Failed assassination attempts in Europe