Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (born 17 December 1948), also referred to by his initials KK, is a Turkish politician who served as the leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) from 2010 to 2023. He was Leader of the Main Opposition in Turkey between 2010 and 2023. He served as a member of parliament for Istanbul's second electoral district from 2002 to 2015, and as an MP for İzmir's second electoral district from 2015 to 2023.

Before entering politics, Kılıçdaroğlu was a civil servant and served as the director-general of the Social Security Institution from 1992 to 1999. He was elected to Parliament in the 2002 general election and became the CHP's parliamentary group leader. In the 2009 local elections, he was nominated as the CHP candidate to run for Mayor of İstanbul, but lost to the AKP candidate.

After Deniz Baykal resigned as the party's leader in 2010, Kılıçdaroğlu announced his candidacy and was unanimously elected as the leader of the CHP. He was elected deputy chairman of the Socialist International in August 2012. He was seen as likely to modernize the CHP. Although the CHP saw a subsequent increase in its vote share, it was unable to unseat the ruling AKP.

As leader of the main opposition, Kılıçdaroğlu attempted to construct big-tent coalitions with other parties, which culminated in the formation of the Nation Alliance and CHP's subsequent victories in the 2019 local elections. He was the CHP's and the Nation Alliance's joint candidate for the 2023 Turkish presidential election, but lost to incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. After his loss, he was voted out as leader of the CHP on 5 November 2023 and was replaced by Özgür Özel. Kılıçdaroğlu was criticized for not resigning as CHP chairman after losing five general elections.

As of 21 May 2026, Kılıçdaroğlu, in a decision by the Ankara Regional Court of Justice 36th Civil Chamber, was reappointed as chairman of the Republican People's Party, replacing Özgür Özel. The decision invalidated the previous election for chairman of the Republican People's Party and reinstated the entire previous administration. Despite this, large segments within the CHP, as well as parties like the Good Party, the Victory Party and the TİP, did not recognize Kılıçdaroğlu's leadership.

Following the court decision, former chairman Özgür Özel, along with 91 MPs, resigned from the party in July 2026 and announced the formation of Yeni Parti (New Party), leaving the CHP with 44 seats in the parliament.