Sırrı Süreyya Önder

Sırrı Süreyya Önder — Biography

Born on 7 July 1962 in Adıyaman, Sırrı Süreyya Önder lost his father, Ziya Önder, the founder and provincial chairman of the Turkish Workers' Party in Adıyaman, at the age of eight, after which he moved with his mother and siblings to his grandfather's house and worked as an apprentice photographer. He was jailed several times as a young man for taking part in protest movements, and later studied at Ankara University's Faculty of Political Science.

He entered filmmaking as a director with Beynelmilel, a film he also wrote, went on to co-direct F Tipi Film, and wrote the screenplay for İtirazım Var. He began his journalism career writing a column for the newspaper BirGün and later wrote for Radikal and Özgür Gündem.

Önder entered politics in the 2011 general election, winning a seat in Istanbul as an independent backed by the Labour, Democracy and Freedom Bloc before later joining the BDP. He ran as the HDP's candidate for mayor of Istanbul in 2014 but did not win, then was elected MP for Ankara in both general elections of 2015 on the HDP ticket, serving across the 24th, 25th, and 26th terms of parliament representing Istanbul and Ankara. In the 2023 election he won a seat for Istanbul as a candidate of the DEM Party and was named a Deputy Speaker of the Grand National Assembly that same year. He died in Istanbul on 3 May 2025, and has continued to be remembered through memorial events and public spaces named in his honor.