Abdurrahman Mustafa

Abdurrahman Mustafa (born 1964) is a Syrian Turkmen politician who is the incumbent president of the Syrian Turkmen Assembly, the umbrella organization of the Turkmen political movements in Syria, and the political leader of the Turkmen national movement of Syria.[1] On 6 May 2018, he was elected as the head of the Syrian National Coalition.[2]

Abdurrahman Mustafa
President of the Syrian Turkmen Assembly
Assumed office
10 May 2014
Preceded byFayez Amro
Vice-President of the Syrian Turkmen Assembly
In office
29 March 2013 – 10 May 2014
Serving with Hüseyin el-Abdullah
Preceded byfounded
Succeeded byZeki Mustafa Türkmen
President of the Syrian National Coalition
In office
9 March 2018 – 29 June 2019
Prime MinisterJawad Abu Hatab
Preceded byRiad Seif
Succeeded byAnas al-Abdah
Prime Ministers of the Syrian National Coalition
Assumed office
30 June 2019
Preceded byJawad Abu Hatab
Personal details
Born1964 (age 56–57)
Taşlıhüyük (Tell Hajar), Aleppo Governorate, Syria
NationalitySyrian Turkmen
Political partyIndependent
Alma materUniversity of Aleppo (1984)
OccupationBusiness manager
ProfessionPolitician

Having served as one of the founder members of the Syrian Turkmen Platform, the predecessor political organization of Turkmen which was founded on 15 December 2012,[3] Mustafa has been elected as the first Vice-President of the Syrian Turkmen Assembly following its foundation on 29 March 2013 with an official ceremony where Samir Hafız was elected as the first president of the assembly and back-then Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, back-then Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoğlu, back-then President of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces Moaz al-Khatib and Turkish opposition politicians from Republican People's Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) have attended and gave speeches.[3]

After the assembly's second general meeting, Mustafa has been elected[4] as the president of the Syrian Turkmen Assembly with the majority of votes by 360 Syrian Turkmen delegates cast during the assembly elections on 10 May 2014.[3] Politicians such as Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoğlu,[5] President of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces George Sabra, Erşat Hürmüzlü, Mehmet Şandır, Fuat Oktay and Ahmet Tuma have personally attended the meeting,[3][6] while Turkish President Abdullah Gül, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly Cemil Çiçek and leader of Republican People's Party, the Turkish main-opposition, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu have sent speeches and congratulations which were addressed at the meeting.[3][6] Since his assuming of the presidency, the activities of Mustafa and the assembly have intensified dramatically including the designation of Syrian Turkmen Brigades as the assembly's military wing,[7] official declaration of the Syrian Turkmen flag,[8] more coordinated attacks seeking the benefit of Turkmen and Syrian opposition[9][10][11] and stronger coordination and cooperation with US and Turkey on the fight against ISIL on Azaz-Jarabulus line, becoming a key organization among which USA has close ties with and states as the "moderate rebels/opposition".[12][13] As a result, Mustafa became a leading Turkmen leader and a key character of Syrian Civil War for Turkey in the first place.[14][15]

He continues to serve as the president of the assembly, receiving open support from Turkey and the Gulf States, namely, Saudi Arabia (before the split) and Qatar, also receiving the support of United States with regards to being a part of "the moderate opposition".[3][14][15]

Syrian Turkmen Assembly, under the leadership of Mustafa has been officially representing Syrian Turkmens in ongoing Geneva peace talks on Syria as an official diplomatic part of the Syrian Opposition with 1 to 3 Turkmen delegates, all headed by Abdurrahman Mustafa.

Life

Personal

Abdurrahman Mustafa was born in 1964, in the Turkmen village of Tell Hajar (Turkish:Taşlıhüyük) in the Aleppo Governorate of Syria. Mustafa is of Turkish origin and Syrian Turkmen ethnicity. He is married.[16][17]

Education

Mustafa attended the University of Aleppo's School of Commerce and graduated in 1984 with a degree on Business/Management.[16][17]

Business

Following the graduation, Mustafa worked for several companies. He received important international offices starting in 1988 when Mustafa was appointed as the Director of Finance and Administration of Libya for Kotaman A.Ş, later promoting to the Regional Director of company.[16][17] Mustafa was involved in trade between 1993 and 1996 in Bulgaria and Turkey. In 1996, he started working for the Turkish Özkesoğlu Group and served in international offices such as Regional Director of Libya and later Syria until his quit from business in 2012 and engagement in politics with the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011.[16][17]

Mustafa is able to communicate proficiently in Turkish and Arabic. He also knows English.[17]

References
  1. "Yürütme Kurulu ve Komisyonlar". Syrian Turkmen Assembly. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  2. "Turkmen politician elected as head of Syrian moderate opposition". Daily Sabah. May 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  3. "Suriye Türkmen Meclisi'nin Kuruluşu". Syrian Turkmen Assembly. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  4. "Suriye Türkmen Meclisi Başkanı belli oldu". TRT Haber. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  5. "Dışişleri Bakanı Sayın Ahmet Davutoğlu'nun Suriye Türkmen Meclisi Genel Kurul Toplantısında Yaptıkları Konuşma, 9 Mayıs 2014". Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 9 May 2014. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  6. "Suriye Türkmen Meclisi 2.Genel Kurulu Düzenlendi". Milliyet. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  7. "Suriye Türkmenleri Kendi Ordusunu Kuruyor". Al Jazeera Türk. 6 July 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  8. "Suriye Türkmenleri'nden Bayrak Açıklaması". Bugün. 25 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  9. "Russian raids repeatedly hit Syrian Turkmen areas, Moscow's data shows". Reuters. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  10. "Turkmen Caught Between ISIS, Assad and Russia". Syria Deeply. 26 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  11. "Syria's Turkmen: who they are, and what they have to do with Russia's downed plane". Vox. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  12. "Türkmenler savunmada ve saldırıda". Al Jazeera Türk. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  13. "Mare'de 2 yerleşim Türkmenlerde". Hürriyet. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  14. "Suriye Türkmen Meclisi – Anasayfa / TR". Syrian Turkmen Assembly. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  15. "Suriye ve Türkmen Gerçeği". Syrian Turkmen Assembly. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  16. "Abdurrahman Mustafa". Biyografi.net. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  17. "Abdurrahman Mustafa". Syrian Turkmen Assembly. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
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