Dilek İmamoğlu

Dilek İmamoğlu
İmamoğlu in 2019
Born
Dilek Kaya

(1974-11-10) 10 November 1974
Vakfıkebir, Trabzon Province, Turkey
Alma materIstanbul University
Istanbul Arel University
Occupation(s)Activist, lecturer
Years active1995–present
Political partyRepublican People's Party
Spouse
​
(m. 1995)​
Children3

Dilek Kaya İmamoğlu (born 10 November 1974)[1] is the wife of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul and the Republican People's Party (CHP) presidential nominee for 2028.

Early life and education

Dilek Kaya was born on 10 November 1974 in Vakfıkebir in Trabzon Province.[1] Although it was claimed that she was the youngest child in a family of ten siblings,[2] it was denied by their daughter first and in another interview Kaya herself made it clear that she had three siblings. After graduating in Public Finance from Anadolu University,[2] she pursued a master's degree in business administration at Kadir Has University and completed her master's degree at Istanbul Arel University in 2016.[3][4] In 2022, she completed her doctoral study at Istanbul Arel University, which examined "the leadership expectations of Millennials, the impact of democratic and autocratic leadership styles on integrated development".[5][6][7] She became a lecturer in social responsibility at Istanbul Arel University.[8]

Activism

Dilek İmamoğlu, accompanied by Semra Çetinkaya, Vice President of the Spinal Cord Paralytics Association of Turkey, traveled around Istanbul in a wheelchair for a day "to feel the difficulties experienced by the disabled and to raise awareness".[9] In 2014, she won the Şükrü Sürmen Award by the Spinal Cord Paralytics Association of Turkey for her "awareness raising activities for disabled people".[10]

She played a prominent role in the protests following her husband’s arrest in 2025.[11]

Istanbul municipal elections

Further information: March 2019 Istanbul mayoral election and June 2019 Istanbul mayoral election

On 31 March 2019, during the Istanbul mayoral elections, posts were shared on social media comparing her photos with Semiha Yıldırım, the wife of AK Party candidate Binali Yıldırım.[12] She said: "I don't think such posts are well-intentioned. If they think they are insulting or flattering, they should know that they are insulting me too. Because when I look at Ms. Semiha Yıldırım's photo, I see my own mother, my own sister. This is their preference. Therefore, I do not find this post in good faith at all."[12] Semiha Yıldırım thanked Dilek for this response.[13]

Women's rights

In October 2019, İmamoğlu was featured on the cover of Madame Figaro Turkey under the title "First Lady of Istanbul".[14] In January 2020, Dilek İmamoğlu, together with Selvi Kılıçdaroğlu, the wife of CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, attended the theater event of the book 'Devran' written by former HDP Chairman Selahattin Demirtaş. The meeting was criticized by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Nationalist Movement Party Chairman Devlet Bahçeli.[15][16]

In August 2020, Imamoğlu posted a video on her social media account in support of the Istanbul Convention with the hashtag "#IstanbulCovenantLives".[17] For the International Day of the Girl Child in October 2020, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality introduced a book titled Brave Girls' Companions (Turkish: Cesur Kızlara Yol Arkadaşları), written by Aslıhan Dağıstanlı Aysev, featuring the stories of 30 Turkish women.[18] In 2024 she wrote a book about the difficulties faced by businesswomen.[2]

Personal life

On 18 November 1995, Dilek Kaya married Ekrem İmamoğlu and the couple have three children, Mehmet Selim (b. 1997), Semih (b. 2005) and Beren (b. 2011).[19][20]

References

  1. ^ a b "Ekrem ve Dilek İmamoğlu mal varlığını açıkladı". bianet.org. Archived from the original on 7 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Dilek İmamoğlu kimdir?". BBC News Türkçe (in Turkish). 25 March 2025. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  3. ^ "Ailesiyle bu kadar sınırlı vakit geçiren bir insanın, üç gün çocukları ve eşiyle bir arada olmasının neresi yanlış??". armanayse.com. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  4. ^ İmamoğlu, Dilek (2016). Cam tavan sendromu ile örgütsel bağlılık arasındaki ilişki: Kadın çalışanlar üzerine bir araştırma (PDF) (Thesis). İstanbul Arel Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Kadınlar mutlu olursa toplum da mutlu olur". sozcu.com.tr. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Dilek İmamoğlu kimdir? Ekrem İmamoğlu'nun eşi nereli ve kaç yaşında?". karar.com. 25 June 2019. Archived from the original on 16 September 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Demokratik ve Otokratik Liderlik Tarzlarının Bütünleşik Kalkınmaya Etkisinde Yönetim Niteliğinin Rolü". Ulusal Tez Merkezi. 2022.
  8. ^ "Müthiş işler yapıyor... Bravoooo Dilek İmamoğlu'na!!!!". armanayse.com. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  9. ^ "Başkan Eşi, Engelleri Aşmak İçin Tekerlekli Sandalyeye Oturdu". haberler.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020.
  10. ^ "4. Şükrü Sürmen Ödülü Dilek İmamoğlu'na verildi". Milliyet. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Ekrem Imamoglu's wife on how his arrest has turned a mayor into a movement". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  12. ^ a b "Flaş haber; siyasette nezaket!". T24 (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  13. ^ "Semiha Yıldırım: Dilek İmamoğlu'na çok teşekkür ederim". T24 (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  14. ^ "'İstanbul'un first lady'si denildi". www.haberturk.com (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  15. ^ "Erdoğan, Dilek İmamoğlu ve Selvi Kılıçdaroğlu'nu hedef aldı". soL. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Devlet Bahçeli, Demirtaş'ın tiyatrosuna gidenlere sinirlendi! İmamoğlu ve Kılıçdaroğlu'na tepki gösterdi". haberler.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020.
  17. ^ Gazetesi, Yurt (7 August 2020). "Dilek İmamoğlu'ndan ses getiren paylaşım". yurtgazetesi.com.tr/ (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  18. ^ "İBB'den kız çocuklarına başucu kitabı: Cesur Kızlara Yol Arkadaşları". birgun.net (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  19. ^ "ANAP'lı ailenin CHP'li çocuğu". Milliyet. 20 December 2018. Archived from the original on 10 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  20. ^ "Ekrem İmamoğlu ailesi ile birlikte Anıtkabir'de". Cumhuriyet. 2 April 2019. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
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