Alma mater Istanbul University Role Turkish Politician Name Yusuf Halacoglu | Profession Historian Occupation Politician, Academic Education Istanbul University | |
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Constituency Kayseri (2011, June 2015, Nov 2015) Born May 10, 1949 (age 74)
Kozan, Adana Province, Turkey ( 1949-05-10 ) Political party Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Spouse Fatma Nur Halacoglu (m. ?–2010) Party Nationalist Movement Party Books Facts on the Relocation of Armenians (1914-1918), The story of 1915 Parents Mehmet Hilmi Halacoglu, Huru Halacoglu Similar People Sinan Ogan, Oktay Vural, Meral Aksener, Engin Alan, Deniz Baykal | ||
I didn’t say CHP was atheist: MHP spokesman
Yusuf Halaçoğlu (born 10 May 1949, in Kozan, Adana) is a Turkish historian and politician. He is a former president of the Turkish Historical Society and is currently a member of the Turkish Parliament representing the electoral district of Kayseri for the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
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He studied history at Istanbul University and pursued an academic career at the same university after graduating in 1974. In 1983, he became an assistant professor. Halaçoğlu entered Marmara University in 1986, and in 1989 he was appointed a professor. After serving in leading positions at the Turkish State Archives, he returned to the university in 1992. From 1993 on, he served as the chairman of the Turkish Historical Society until his dismissal in 2008. He then returned to his chair at Gazi University.
In the 2011 general election, Halaçoğlu was elected into parliament, and was reelected in June and November 2015. In November 2015, the MHP nominated him for Parliamentary Speaker, where he finished on fourth place.
Views
Halaçoğlu is a well-known denier of the Armenian Genocide and has authored several works that mitigate the suffering the Armenians underwent during World War I. He places the number of deaths during the deportations (which he calls "forced relocations") at no higher than 9,000-10,000 (as opposed to the more widely accepted figure of 1,000,000 to 1,500,000). His views closely parallel the official Turkish state thesis that the massacres and death marches did not constitute genocide. His research has been criticized by such scholars as Taner Akçam. In 2008 Halaçoğlu was dismissed from his post as the head of the Turkish Historical Society for his controversial claims about Armenians and Kurds.