Khaled Khoja (, , born 4 July 1965) is a

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

- Turkish politician. He was the president of the

National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces The National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, commonly named the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), or the Syrian National Revolutionary Coalition (SNRC) was a political organization founded in Doha, Qatar, in November 2012 ...

from 2015 to 2016. He was born to a Turkish family, and can speak both Turkish and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. He is a Turkish citizen since 1993.

Khoja The Khoja are a caste of Muslims mainly members of the Nizari Ismaʿiliyyah sect of Islam with a minority of followers of Shia Islam originating the western Indian subcontinent, and converted to Islam from Hinduism by the 14th century by the Pe ...

was born in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

in 1965. His ethnic background is

Syrian Turkmen Syrian Turkmen, also called Syrian Turks or Syrian Turkish people (; ) are Syrian citizens of Turkish origin who mainly trace their roots to Anatolia (i.e. modern Turkey). Turkish-speaking Syrian Turkmen make up the third largest ethnic group ...

. He finished his highschool education in

Ubari Ubari or Awbari () is an oasis town and the capital of the Wadi al Hayaa District, in the Fezzan region of southwestern Libya. It is in the Idehan Ubari, a Libyan section of the Sahara Desert. It was the capital of the former ''baladiyah'' (dis ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. During the rule of President

Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad (6 October 193010 June 2000) was a Syrian politician and military officer who was the president of Syria from 1971 until Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad, his death in 2000. He was previously the Prime Minister of Syria ...

Khoja was detained twice. He studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

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 ...

between 1985 and 1987. But later he studied medicine in University of Izmir,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

between 1987 and 1995. After the Syrian uprising began in 2011, Khoja participated in founding of several opposition groups, including the

Syrian National Council The Syrian National Council (SNC), sometimes known as the Syrian National Transitional Council or the National Council of Syria, was a Syrian opposition coalition, based in Istanbul, Turkey, formed in August 2011 during the Syrian civil upris ...

in October 2011. Before being elected as a National Coalition president he served as the National Coalition's representative in Turkey. Khoja resigned from the National Coalition on 25 April 2018. Halid Hoca changed his name to Alptekin Hocaoğlu after he became a Turkish citizen. He was among the founders of

Ahmet Davutoğlu Ahmet Davutoğlu (; born 26 February 1959) is a Turkish academic, politician and former diplomat who served as the List of Prime Ministers of Turkey, 26th Prime Minister of Turkey and Leader of the Justice and Development Party (Turkey), Justice ...

's Future Party in 2019.

References

External links

Al Jazeera article on Khaled Khoja in 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khoja, Khaled 1965 births Living people Politicians from Damascus Syrian National Council members Syrian Turkmen politicians Former National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces members Syrian people of Turkish descent