Aytekin Kotil (1934–1992) was a Turkish social democratic politician. He was the

mayor of Istanbul The mayor of Istanbul is the head of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. The mayor is elected popularly every five years. Nuri Aslan has served as interim mayor of Istanbul since 26 March 2025. This article covers the Ottoman Empire to the ...

being a pioneer in the

municipal socialism Municipal socialism is a type of socialism that uses local government to further socialist aims. It is a form of municipalism in which its explicitly socialist aims are clearly stated. In some contexts the word "municipalism" was tainted with t ...

in Turkey. He was also a member of the

Turkish Parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

Early life and education

Kotil was born in Gündoğdu,

Rize Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Vefa High School Vefa High School (, ), is one of the oldest and internationally renowned high schools in Turkey. The first ''Mülkiye Lisesi'' ( English: Non-military High School) training in Turkish language was ''Vefa Lisesi'' established in 1872 which forming ...

, Istanbul. He received a degree in law from the law faculty of

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

in 1960.

Career

Following his graduation Kotil worked as a lawyer in Istanbul. He joined the

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...

(CHP) and became active in the CHP's Istanbul organization. He was part of a faction consisted of those party members from the Black Sea region. The group was led by Ali Topuz and included

Necdet Uğur Necdet Uğur (full name Mustafa Necdet Uğur; 1 January 1923 – 27 September 2004) was a Turkish politician in Turkey. Early life and education He was born in 1923 in Mecitözü in Çorum Province. In 1944 he graduated from the Faculty of Polit ...

Orhan Eyüpoğlu Orhan Eyüpoğlu (1918 – 30 November 1980) was a Turkish politician. A graduate of Istanbul University's Faculty of Law, he was deputy director of the Istanbul Police force. In 1973 he was elected as the secretary general of the Republican Peo ...

Tarhan Erdem Tarhan Erdem (1933 – 8 June 2022) was a Turkish politician who was the President of KONDA Research and Consultancy, an opinion polling company. He was a member of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and briefly served as the Minister of Indus ...

and other leading figures in the party. It was the earliest supporter of

Bülent Ecevit Mustafa Bülent Ecevit (; 28 May 1925 – 5 November 2006) was a Turkish politician, statesman, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of Turkey four times between 1974 and 2002. He served as prime minister in 197 ...

against

İsmet İnönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü (24 September 1884 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish politician and military officer who served as the second List of Presidents of Turkey, president of Turkey from 1938 to 1950, and as its Prime Minister of Turkey, pr ...

in the election of the CHP chairmanship in 1972. Kotil and Ali Topuz were ardent followers of Bülent Ecevit's '' left of center movement''. Kotil was named as the head of the CHP's Istanbul branch in 1973. He was elected as the mayor of Istanbul in the

local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

held on 11 December 1977, replacing

Ahmet İsvan Ahmet İsvan (1923–2017) was a leftist Turkish politician. He served as the mayor of Istanbul between 1973 and 1977. He was among the pioneers of the municipal socialism in Turkey. Early life and education İsvan was born in Istanbul in 1923. ...

in the post. His slogan in the election campaign was "reachable, not a speech- but a service-generating mayor." He managed to obtain 56.05% of the votes. Kotil adopted a socialist approach during his tenure. His term ended in September 1980 immediately after the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

. Kotil's successor in the post was

Hakkı Akansel İsmail Hakkı Akansel (1924 – 15 May 2016) was a Turkish military general and politician. In 1980, Akansel was appointed Mayor of Istanbul following the 1980 Turkish coup d'état and the establishment of military rule in Turkey. He served as t ...

, a military general. Kotil was elected to the Parliament in the 1987 general election from the

Social Democratic Populist Party The Social Democratic Populist Party or Social Democratic Popular Party (, abbreviated SHP) was a political party in Turkey that formed after the fusion of the Social Democracy Party (''Sosyal Demokrasi Partisi'', SODEP) of Erdal İnönü and th ...

. In the party Kotil and Ali Topuz supported the leadership of

Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal (20 July 1938 – 11 February 2023) was a Turkish politician. A member of the Republican People's Party (CHP) who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1996. Having served in numerous governmen ...

against

Erdal İnönü Erdal İnönü (6 June 1926 – 31 October 2007) was a Turkish theoretical physicist and politician who served as the interim prime minister of Turkey between 16 May and 25 June 1993. He also served as the deputy prime minister of Turkey from 1 ...

Personal life and death

Kotil married in 1961 and had three children. He died of liver disease in Istanbul on 9 August 1992. He was buried in the

Zincirlikuyu cemetery The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery () is a modern burial ground in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of politics, business, sports and arts rest here. The ce ...

Şişli Şişli () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 10 km2, and its population is 276,528 (2022). Located on the European side of the city, it is bordered by Beşiktaş ...

, Istanbul.

Legacy

A park in

Bakırköy Bakırköy is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district in the European part of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 29 km2, and its population is 226,685 (2022). Bakırköy lies between the State road D.100 (Turkey), D.100 highway (l ...

, Istanbul, was named after him in 1993. In 2014 his biography was published in Turkish with the title ''Karadenizli Bir Politikacı: Aytekin Kotil (1934–1992)''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kotil, Aytekin 20th-century mayors of places in Turkey 20th-century Turkish lawyers 20th-century jurists 1934 births 1992 deaths People from Rize Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Members of the 18th Parliament of Turkey Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Mayors of Istanbul Social Democratic Populist Party (Turkey) politicians Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Deaths from liver disease Vefa High School alumni Deaths from cancer in Turkey