Temel Karamollaoğlu is a person who held important positions in the National Vision (Milli Görüş) movement parties. He worked as an expert from the State Planning Organization of the period. He served as the National Salvation Party (MSP), Welfare Party (RP), Virtue Party (FP) Sivas province deputy and the RP Sivas Mayor. Temel Karamollaoğlu’s life and political career are among the curious ones. Well, how old is Temel Karamollaoğlu, where is he from? Who is Temel Karamollaoğlu’s wife? Answers of the questions as like "Who is Temel Karamollaoğlu?" you can read from our bio content…
WHO IS TEMEL KARAMOLLAOĞLU?
Originally from Sivas, Temel Karamollaoğlu was born in June 7, 1941 in Kahramanmaraş where his father was a teacher. He graduated from Kayseri High School in 1959.
He went to England in 1960 with a scholarship from Sümerbank. He graduated from Manchester University Textile Technology department in 1964. Temel Karamollaoğlu married with his wife Ayşe Yasemin Karamollaoğlu in 1965. He completed his master’s degree at the same university in 1967.
He was the head of the British Turkish Student Association and actively participated in the social activities of Muslim communities and was the manager of British Federation of Muslim Student Association (FOSIS).
STATE PLANNING ORGANIZATON PERIOD
He returned to Turkey in 1967. He worked at Sümerbank for a short time and in the State Planning Organization (SPO) as a Textile Industry Specialist between 1967-1972. After completing his military service in 1973, he worked as a manager at Altınyıldız. During his tenure at SPO, he participated in international activities. He took part in Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) studies to coordinate the industries of the countries established between Turkey, Iran and Pakistan during this period. He was among the founders of Economic and Social Research Center (ESAM) in 1969. He has participated in ESAM activities uninterruptedly, and took part in the management for many periods since 1969.
WORKED AS ASSISTANT COUNSELOR RESPONSIBLE FOR INDUSTRY
In between 1975 and 1977, he worked at the Ministry of Industry and Technology, first as the General Manager of Incentive and Implementation, and later as the Assistant Counselor in charge of Widespread Industry. He carried out important works aimed at the development of the industry and its spread throughout Turkey during this period.
In the General Directorate of Incentive and Implementation, which directs and encourages all its investments in Turkey in terms of capacity, technology and location, made an effort to prevent the population of Istanbul from increasing and to spread investments to Anatolia. During his term as General Industry Coordinator, he played an important role in accelerating the works of establishment of Organized Industrial Sites and Small Industrial Sites in Anatolia. In this period, hundreads of the investments were made by the hand of private sector or under the leadership of the state.
MEETING OF KARAMOLLAOGLU WITH ERBAKAN HODJA
In these years, he met with late Mehmet Zahid Kotku, one of Turkey’s spiritual leaders, and Prof. Dr. Necmettin Erbakan who started a revolutionary move in politics. These two personalities were influential in shaping his later life.
ELECTED AS A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FROM THE NATIONAL SALVATION PARTY (MSP)
He started active political life in 1977. He was elected as Sivas Member of Parliament from the MSP. He was elected as a Member of the Party’s General Assembly in 1978. He worked as a member of State Economic Enterprise (SEE) Commision in the parliamentary works and followed the industrialization efforts he started at the SPO. He assumed the Chairmanship of the “Aircraft Industry Subcommittee” in the SEE Commission. He represented Turkey in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for three years during his term as a Member of Parliament. In there, he actively followed the issues related to Cyprus and Islamic countries.
ARRESTED IN THE MILITARY COUP OF 1980
He was arrested in the military coup of 1980. He was acquitted after 10 months in detention. Until the political bans were lifted with the 1987 referendum, he stayed away from active politics. During this term, he first worked as consultant in the private sector, and then served as the General Manager of Bahariye Mensucat for 5 years. During his term as General Manager, he successfully managed the corporate and physical restructuring process of the company and increase profitability. He returned to political life with the referendum in 1987 and was elected as a Member of the General Administrative Board of the Welfare Party. He was a parliamentary candidate in the 1987 general elections.
SIVAS MUNICIPALITY TERM
He was elected as a mayor of Sivas Municipality from RP for two terms in the years of 1989 and 1994. During his term as Mayor, he organized many economic, social and cultural activities for the economic, social and cultural development of Sivas. In a short time, the infrastructure investments of the city were completed. Sivas has became a model city in modern city planning and municipality. By expanding the scope of municipal services, an economic development project was prepared. Under the leadership of the municipality, Organized Industrial Zone was established. Importance was given to works of foundation, social and cultural activities and the historical and cultural structure of the city was protected.
His works in Sivas Municipality, together with the RP’s municipal services in the provinces of Van, Kahramanmaraş, Konya and Şanlıurfa in the same period, made a revolutionary move in the understanding of municipalism in Turkey and played a major role in the coming of National Vision movement to power. In this period, works of the municipality were built on not being partizan, giving the job to those who are competent, being fair, not allowing bribery and corruption, and worrying about everyone’s problems.
AS A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT OF WELFARE PARTY
He re-entered the Parliament as a Sivas Member of Parliament from RP in the 1995 General Elections. In this term, he served as a Member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. As representative of Turkey, he went to all Europe countries and many other countries. During this period, he participated in the works of the late Erbakan Hodja on the creation and maturation of the Islamic Union and the establishment of D-8s. In the same term, he was elected as the Group Deputy Chairman of the RP. Until RP was closed down by the postmodern coup, he continued this duty.
AS A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT OF VIRTUE PARTY (FP)
After the Welfare Party was closed by the Constitutional Court, he joined the FP. He was re-elected as a Member of Parliament from Sivas in the 1999 elections. During the this legislative period, Membership of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly continued. After the FP was closed in 2001, he took part in the founding of the Felicity Party (SP) and was appointed as the Deputy Chairman for Foreign Relations. He has been a member of the High Advisory Board (YİK), which was formed by Erbakan Hodja before his death, in order not to deviate of the political movement from the line, from the date of its establishment.
THE TERM AS CHAIRMAN OF FELICITY PARTY
He was elected as the Chairman of the Saadet Party at the 6th Ordinary Congress of Felicity (Saadet) Party held on October 30, 2016. He aroused great public repercussion with his outputs after he became the Chairman. His unifiying and embracing speeches against polarization and marginalization, and his statement “Please think: don’t make decisions without thinking. ‘Yes’ if I don’t think, ‘no’ if I think about it” in the Government System Change Referendum made a big impact. He actively used social media against the media embargo imposed on him and his party, and drew attention with his motto “If the Media is the Sultan’s, Social Media is Ours”. By making “Leader Visits for Turkey’s Future”; meeting with the President, the ruling party, the main opposition party and other parties in the parliament, he exchanged views on the country’s issues, and emphasized the importance and urgency of achieving social consensus.
At the 7th Ordinary Grand Congress of Saadet Party on November 3, 2019, he was re-elected as the Chairman of Saadet Party. After late Oğuzhan Asiltürk's death, the chairman of Saadet Party High Advisory (YİK) Board and National Vision Foundation (MGV), Karamollaoglu became the new head of YİK and MGV.
PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION PROCESS
On the date of May 1, 2018, he was nominated for the Presidential election to be held on June 24, 2018. Temel Karamollaoğlu passed the 100.000 signatures limit that required to be a candidate in the June 24, Presidential election. During the signing process, which will be held between 4-9 May, Karamollaoğlu’s participation in the Presidential elections by collecting 155.000 signatures as of 8 May was finalized.
Temel Karamollaoğlu, who is married and has 5 children, has a good command of English.