Sibel Arslan (; born 23 June 1980)''Sibel Arslan kandidiert für vakanten Sitz im Basler Bürgerrat''
Website der Sozialdemokratischen Partei Basel-Stadt, 14. is a Turkish-born Swiss lawyer and politician who currently serves on the

National Council (Switzerland) The National Council (; ; ; ) is a house of the Federal Assembly (Switzerland), Federal Assembly of Switzerland, representing the people. The other house, Council of States (Switzerland), Council of States, represents the states, preventing mor ...

for the movement ''BastA!'' (

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

). There she concurrently also is a representative to the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up of ...

since 2020. She previously served on the Grand Council of Basel-Stadt between 2005 and 2016.

Early life and education

Sibel Arslan is of Kurdish Alevi origin from Erzincan, and arrived in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in 1991 with her mother and two brothers. Her father had already arrived six years previously as a refugee. The family settled in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

. In 2002, she graduated from the Gymnasium Bäumlihof in

. She studied law at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...

and graduated in 2011.

Professional career

Along with her brother, Arslan managed the shisha bar 'Susam' in Barfüsserplatz from 2006 to 2007. Arslan has been working as a legal advisor to the Basel Gewerkschaftsbund since 2012. From 2013 to 2015 she was a career adviser at the Office for Counseling and Adult Protection of the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Since March 2015 she has worked as a lawyer in the General Secretariat of the Security Directorate of the Canton of Basel-Landschaft.

Political career

Arslan joined BastA! in 2004, a leftist ecological party in the canton of Basel-Stadt. BastA is a member of the Green Party of Switzerland. From 2005 to 2016 she sat in the Grand Council of Basel-Stadt. In 2007, she became a member of the Justice, Safety and Sports Commission and, from 2013, the Pardon Commission. At the end of 2014 the Cantonal Regierungsrat ( Executive Councilor) of Basel Landschaft, Security Director Isaac Reber revoked an agreed appointment of Arslan as head of the cantonal penal sanctions and measures committee after the

Basler Zeitung ''Basler Zeitung'' (literally: "Basler Newspaper"), or ''BaZ'', is a Switzerland, Swiss German language, German-language regional daily newspaper, published in Basel. History and profile ''Basler Zeitung'' was created in 1977 through the merg ...

had led a campaign against her. The newspaper had alleged lack of qualifications and debts of about 60,000 Swiss francs. These claims covered three agreements that Arslan had also mentioned in the application process. The fact that these claims were recorded in the debt collection register "was not clarified in all media reports". At the time of Arslan's application, only a residual debt of CHF 5,000 had to be paid. This happened within a short time. Arslan was elected to the National Council in the

2015 Swiss federal election Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 18 October 2015 for the National Council and the first round of elections to the Council of States, with runoff elections to the Council of States being held in various cantons until 22 November. R ...

. On 30 November 2015 she took the oath of office. The ceremony was held in Bern. In Parliament she joined the fraction of the

Green Party of Switzerland The Green Party of Switzerland (; ; ; ) is a green political party in Switzerland. It is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council. History The first ...

and is a member of the Foreign Policy Commission and the Legal Commission. In October 2019 she was re-elected to the National Council.

Political positions

She is a defender of women rights and was shortly detained after she participated in the Swiss Women's Strike 2020 and supports

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

. Besides, she is a member of the Swiss Association of Foreign Policy.

Personal life

In 2004 she became a Swiss citizen and is a Turkish and Swiss dual citizen.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arslan, Sibel 1980 births Living people Green Party of Switzerland politicians Turkish emigrants to Switzerland Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2023–2027 Kurdish lawyers Kurdish women lawyers People from Erzincan Women members of the National Council (Switzerland) Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2019–2023 Politicians from Basel-Stadt Swiss people of Kurdish descent Swiss women lawyers 21st-century Swiss women politicians 21st-century Swiss lawyers 21st-century women lawyers 21st-century Kurdish politicians Kurdish women in politics 21st-century Kurdish women