Burhan Kuzu

Burhan Kuzu was born to Ali Rıza Kuzu and his wife Cahide at Şıhlı village of Develi district in Kayseri Province on 1 January 1955. The family had nine children. His father, a farmer and village imam died when he was in the primary school, and his mother died when he was in the junior high school.[2]

During his high school years, he was interested in theatre.[2] He studied law at Istanbul University.[1][2]

After graduation, he took exams for the profession of judge and district governor. He started an internship for district governor in Tekirdağ Province. He preferred a career as an academic when he received an assistant post at the university in 1976. He earned his Master of Laws and Doctor of Law titles from Faculty of Law at Istanbul University. His field of study was Constitutional law. Between 1980 and 1982, he conducted research at Faculty of Law in Paris-Sorbonne University upon a schlorship given by the European Council.[2]

In 1996, Kuzu was appointed full professor of the Chair of Constitutional Law at Faculty of Law in Istanbul University. He published papers and books in the field of law. He taught law at the Police College. He was also an academic member of the Faculty of Social Science at Beykent University in Istanbul. He was a guest professor at Zirve University in Gaziantep.[2]

Kuzu entered politics as a co-founder of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in 2001. He served as the first chairman of the party's arbitration committee for denocracy. At the 2002 general election, he won a seat in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey as a debuty of Istanbul from the AK Party. He kept his seat in the parliament at the 2007 and 2011 general elections. The rule of his party not allowing a parliament membership for more than three terms prevented him to run at the June 2015 general election. Kuzu entered the parliament again after the November 2015 general election. He served as a member of the Constitutional Commission in the parliament.[2]

Kuzu was married with two children.[2]

He died at age 65 of COVID-19 on 1 November 2020 in the Medipol Mega University Hospital, where he was treated nearly two weeks.[1][2] He was interred at Edirnekapı Martyr's Cemetery following the religious funeral service held at Fatih Mosque.[3]