Cem Toker (born July 5, 1957) is a Turkish politician, businessman, economist and the former leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Turkey (', LDP). He was elected in the fourth ordinary party congress on June 20, 2005.

Early life and career

Toker was born in 1957 in

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 ...

. He graduated from the British College, İstanbul and then earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in economics from

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

. He worked in the finance sector and formed a company offering international consultancy, guidance and language services. Toker is single and has no children.

Political career

His political career in the LDP started in 1996. Toker served as an executive and the chairman of the

branch of the LDP. He also served as the party's deputy secretary-general and secretary-general. From 2003 to 2005, he served as the deputy chairman of LDP. He was elected as the president of the party for the first time at the 4th ordinary congress of LDP in June 2005. He has been reelected twice in March 2008 and October 2010. He was the architect of the LDP-led umbrella alliance offer in 2006. He offered an alliance to nine political parties from both left and right (including Anavatan and

Demokratik Sol Parti The Democratic Left Party (, DSP) is a Turkish political party, founded on 14 November 1985 by Rahşan Ecevit. History 1985–1999 The DSP, a social-democratic oriented party, was registered on 14 November 1985 by Rahşan Ecevit, wife of B ...

) for the basic values of republicanism against the governing conservative party, AKP. The offer was still open in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and in 2011 elections. In January 2017 he announced that he was stepping down as party leader and transferring the party leadership to Gültekin Tırpancı.

References

1957 births Living people Leaders of political parties in Turkey Politicians from Istanbul Arizona State University alumni Liberal Democratic Party (Turkey) politicians Turkish secularists {{Turkey-politician-stub