Temel Karamollaoglu: Short bio of presidential candidate in Turkey elections

ANKARA

Temel Karamollaoğlu was born in 1941, Kahramanmaraş. 

He graduated from Kayseri High School in 1959 and in 1960 he went to study in Britain on a scholarship from Sümerbank. In 1964 he graduated from Manchester University’s Textile Technology Department and in 1967 he got his master’s degree from the same university.

Karamollaoğlu worked as senior executive in both the private and public sectors. After working for four years at Sümerbank, between 1967 and 1972, he became a textile sector specialist at the State Planning Organization.

In 1973, after fulfilling his military service he was appointed as director of textile products company Altınyıldız.

Between 1975 and 1977 he served as the general manager of Incentives and Applications, subsequently as a deputy secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Technology.

After entering politics, Karamollaoğlu participated in the executive branches of the National Salvation Party (1977), the Welfare Party (1987), the Virtue Party (1999) and the Felicity Party (2001).

From 1989 to 1995 he served as mayor of the eastern city of Sivas. On Oct. 30, 2016, Karamollaoğlu was elected as chair of the Felicity Party.

Temel Karamollaoğlu is married with five children.