Turkish academic, researcher and nationalist politician of Azerbaijani descent, former member of the Nationalist Movement Party of Turkey, and former parliamentarian. He is the recipient of many awards and honors for his excellence in academic and research work, and his tireless efforts in the field of Turkish national rapprochement and cooperation. Candidate for the 2023 Turkish presidential elections by the Ancestral Alliance (ATA).
Birth and upbringing
Sinan Oğan was born on September 1967, <>, in the Turkish city of Ayder, the youngest son of a poor farmer of Azerbaijani origin.
Ogan lived his childhood in his hometown in difficult financial circumstances, forcing him to work in herding and many other jobs in order to be able to live and complete his basic education.
Study and scientific training
Ogan studied basic stages in Ayder, then moved to Istanbul in 1985 to complete his university studies, where he graduated from Marmara State University Business School in 1989.
He then continued his education at the same university, obtaining a master's degree from the Faculty of Financial Law and Banking in 1992, and presented a thesis entitled "Structural analysis of the economic and financial sector in Azerbaijan".
He left for Russia, where he received a PhD in International Relations and Political Science from Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO) in 2009.
His thesis was a study on Turkish domestic politics and its impact on Turkish-Russian relations.
Marriage and family
Sinan Ogan is married to writer and researcher Gokchan Duggan, and they have a son and a daughter.
Practical and political experience
Sinan Ogan began his career in academia, working as a researcher at the Institute of Turkish Studies at Marmara University between 1992 and 1998.
In this position, he was sent to Azerbaijan, where he worked as a lecturer and deputy dean at the Turkish Global Studies Foundation at the Faculty of Business Administration of Azerbaijan State University between 1992 and 2000.
At the same time, he worked for the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representing the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in Azerbaijan, and also worked in the private sector.
He returned to Turkey in 2000 and began conducting his research and studies through the Caucasian Studies Bureau of the Eurasian Center for Strategic Studies (ASAM).
In 2004, he founded and headed the Center for International Relations and Strategic Analysis (TÜRKSAM), which is considered one of the most famous centers of analysis and strategic thinking in Turkey, through which he presented important research studies on the topics of economy, foreign relations and security issues at the national level.
In 2006, he served as Deputy Director of External Relations at Cappadocia Vocational College for a year, continuing his work at the Center for International Relations and Strategic Analysis (TÜRKSAM).
Political experience
Ogan has been in close contact with politics since his school years, especially issues related to Turkish nationalism, for his nationalist ideology in support of rapprochement and cooperation among Turkic-speaking peoples.
In 1990, he organized a large rally in Istanbul's Taksim Square to denounce the massacre by the Soviet army against Azerbaijani demonstrators on January 20 of the same year.
He was in contact with Abufazl Ilji Beg (second president of Azerbaijan) before the dissolution of the USSR, and worked in his office for the period of 1991 after Azerbaijan's independence.
His nationalist orientation pushed him to work in politics under the umbrella of the Turkish Nationalist Movement Party, and he has been providing information support to the party's president, Devlet Bahceli, since 2006, through reports and analysis he prepared on foreign policy and security issues.
At Bahceli's invitation, Ogan ran for the Turkish parliament for Ayder in 2011 and was elected as a deputy from the only province the party won in those elections, surpassing the AKP and HDP.
During his tenure in Parliament, he served as a member of the Parliamentary Constitution Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee.
In 2015, he announced his candidacy for the post of MHP chairman, but was expelled from the party on 26 August 2015, and by a court decision the expulsion was annulled on 2 November 2015, and Ogan returned to the party.
On 10 March 2017, he was expelled from the party again along with three of the party's deputies, for declaring a "no" vote in the referendum on the constitutional amendment, and for actively campaigning in the party ranks to call for it, and the party's central disciplinary board decided to punish the four with "final expulsion".
Although he was expelled from his party twice, he did not move to another party, did not establish a new one, and declared that he would remain loyal to his party and its struggle despite the offers made to him.
His candidacy for the 2023 presidential elections
Sinan Ogan was nominated for the 2023 Turkish presidential election by the Ancestral Alliance (ATA), an alliance of ultra-nationalist parties, the most important of which is the Victory Party.
Ogan was able to collect about 108,100 signatures, which qualified him to be one of the four candidates to compete for the presidency, and according to the constitution, the candidacy for the Turkish presidential elections is either through parties that manage to form a bloc in parliament, or by collecting <>,<> signatures.
The most prominent election promises of Sinan Ogan:
- Abolition of the presidential system and return to the parliamentary system.
- Solving the demographic problems caused, in his opinion, by the migrations of other peoples to Turkey.
- Emphasis on ensuring the safe return of migrants, especially Syrians, to their country as soon as possible.
- Forming a productive economy, supporting the agricultural sector and reaching food self-sufficiency.
- Supporting democracy in Turkey, achieving justice and defending human rights.
Sinan Ogan produces and presents a political program entitled "A Look at Eurasia" on a Turkish radio station (Anatolia)
Work in civil society institutions
Sinan Ogan is an important activist in civil work organizations, he is the honorary president of the Azerbaijan Turkish Association (TÜRKAZDER), which works to develop brotherly relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan.
He is also a member of the Turkey-Albania, Turkey and Niger Parliamentary Friendship Group, and the Secretary General of the Turkish-Azerbaijani Parliamentary Friendship Group.
He is the general coordinator of the Civil Initiative Movement for the Closure of the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant in Armenia, which he tries to draw attention to as one of the most dangerous nuclear plants around the world, through conferences and television appearances.
Literature and achievements
Sinan Ogan has written 3 published books:
- "Azerbaijan" published in 1992.
- "Politics and Oligarchy", published in 2003 in Russia.
- "Orange Revolutions", published in 2006.
He has also published more than 500 articles in Turkish, English and Russian on Turkish foreign policy topics, Turkey's problems, issues of the Turkish, Caucasus and Central Asian peoples, energy and terrorism issues, the Armenian question, and Russian, Afghan and Iranian affairs.
Ogan continues to publish his articles in many Turkish and foreign scientific journals.
He has a presence in the audiovisual media field, as he is the producer and presenter of the weekly program "Look at Eurasia", which is broadcast on TRT Radio Voice of Turkey.
His program focuses on foreign policy, and has a constant presence in television programs and interviews, and participation in conferences, seminars and scientific meetings inside and outside Turkey.
Awards and honors
Ogan has received numerous honors and awards in honor of his research efforts and outstanding academic work, and in recognition of his tireless work in the field of serving the Turkish nation.
He was honored with the Order of Progress by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in July 2011 and received the Kazakhstan-Turkey Order of Friendship and Development Cooperation from the Republic of Kazakhstan.
He received the "Outstanding Academic Achievement" award from Marmara University, the "Service to the Turkish World" award from the Ekoavrasya Association, and the "Social Sciences" award from the Milliyet newspaper.
He was selected as "Deputy of the Year" for 2011 by the Telecommunications Society, one of the most important NGOs dealing with surveys.
In a study by the Interpress Media Center, Ogan's name was among the "most visible" names on television in 2010.