About Kadir Topbaş
Kadir Topbaş (8 January 1945 – 13 February 2021) was a Turkish architect, businessman and politician who served as Mayor of Istanbul from 2004 to 2017. == Biography == He was born on 8 January 1945, in Altıparmak village of Yusufeli district in Artvin Province. Kadir Topbaş moved to Istanbul in 1946 with his family. He earned a PhD in architectural history from Istanbul University following his education of theology at Marmara University in 1972 and architecture at Mimar Sinan University in 1974. After working as preacher in Edirne, teacher and freelance architect in İstanbul, he served between 1994 and 1998, as advisor to then-mayor of Istanbul Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the restoration and decoration of palaces and other historical buildings in Istanbul. Topbaş was also the owner of the Turkish cuisine restaurant chain, Saray Muhallebicisi. == Political career == Topbaş entered politics as member of the religious oriented Milli Selamet Partisi (MSP). Later on, Topbaş ran twice for the deputy of Artvin province in the parliament, first in 1977 from the MSP and then in 1987 from Refah Partisi (RP) without success. In 1999, he was elected mayor of Beyoğlu district from the Fazilet Partisi (FP). In the 2004 regional elections, Kadir Topbaş ran for the post of mayor of İstanbul from the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) and won on 28 March 2004.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.