Emine Ülker Tarhan (born 29 November 1963) is a Turkish

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

formerly from 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 ...

(Turkish: Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP). She was formerly a judge at the

High Court of Appeals The Court of Cassation, officially called the Supreme Court of Appeals of the Republic of Turkey ( – ''Yargıtay'' for short), is the last instance for reviewing verdicts given by courts of criminal and civil justice in Turkey. History The ins ...

. She served as the vice spokesperson of her party in the parliament before resigning on 31 October 2014. She founded the Anatolia Party on 14 November 2014 and led it until its disestablishment in December 2015. Tarhan was born in

Tarsus, Mersin Tarsus (; Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒅈𒊭 ; ; ; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,029 km2, and its population is 350,732 (2022). It is a historic city, inland from the ...

. She was educated at the Ankara University Law School. After working as a freelance lawyer, she became a

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Belgium, Hungary and Si ...

. She served as a judge at the High Court of Appeals. Tarhan was a founding member of the Judges' and Prosecutors' Association (YARSAV). She served as its secretary general and chairperson. She joined the Republican People's Party (CHP), and entered the

Turkish Grand National Assembly 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 ...

as a deputy from

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

after the

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

on June 12, 2011. She was an outspoken supporter of the 2013 protests and on one occasion sat on the ground to prevent a water cannon vehicle passing, an act for which the pianist

Fazıl Say Fazıl Say (; born 14 January 1970) is a Turkish pianist and composer who has worked internationally. Life and career Say was born in Ankara in 1970. His father, Ahmet Say, was an author and musicologist. His mother, Gürgün Say, was a pharm ...

suggested that she take over the leadership of the CHP. On 31 October 2014, Tarhan resigned from the CHP, citing the weak leadership and the lack of strong electoral prospects as her reason. As a prominent nationalist, her resignation was also attributed to the more liberal approach taken by party leader

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (; born 17 December 1948), also referred to by his initials KK, is a Turkish politician who served as the Leader of the Republican People's Party, leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) from 2010 to 2023. He was Lis ...

. She went on to found and lead the short-lived Anatolia Party. Tarhan is married and she is mother of two children.

References

External links

Emine Ülker Tarhan TBMM
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarhan, Emine Ulker 1963 births Ankara University Faculty of Law alumni Living people People from Tarsus, Mersin Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Turkish judges 21st-century Turkish lawyers Female party leaders of Turkey Members of the 24th Parliament of Turkey 21st-century Turkish women politicians Turkish political party founders Public defenders