Devlet Bahçeli (born 1 January 1948) is a Turkish politician, economist, former deputy prime minister, and current chairman of the far-right,[1] ultranationalist[2] Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

[3] An academic in economics from Gazi University, Bahçeli is a founder of the Grey Wolves, and was elected as the chairman of the MHP in the first congress held after the death of Alparslan Türkeş in 1997.

[4][5] Bahçeli was initially a fierce critic of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan throughout the 2000s and 2010s until an interparty crisis occurred following MHP's poor performance in the November 2015 general election.

MHP currently supports president Erdoğan's cabinet with confidence and supply in the Grand National Assembly.

[12] Devlet's father grew up in a left-wing family, and was a supporter of İsmet İnönü and the Republican People's Party (CHP).

[15] Devlet attended secondary school with his elder brother Servet in Adana Private Çukurova College.

[22] Devlet Bahçeli served as a deputy prime minister in the subsequent coalition government (DSP-Motherland-MHP) of Bülent Ecevit.

[24][25] Bahçeli resigned his chairmanship, announcing "I am the only one responsible for the failure",[26] but was reelected in the party's 2003 congress in a competition between Ramiz Ongun, Koray Aydın, and Aytekin Yıldırım.

[29] Bahçeli campaigned in the 2011 general election promising 7% GDP growth and a change in electoral laws.

The election produced a hung parliament, so the AKP, CHP, MHP, and HDP engaged in coalition talks.

Following MHP's defeat in the 2015 election, high ranking party members demanded Bahçeli's resignation as chairman.

[36] A lawsuit was filed by Bahçeli's opposition on the grounds that their demands were not met and that the party be taken to an extraordinary congress.

[38] The 6th Extraordinary Grand Congress of the MHP convened on 19 June 2016 with the participation of six candidates who declared their candidacy against Bahçeli.

In the congress, which was officially a bylaws convention, it was confirmed that a number of amendments to the party's charter had been decided on, even though the headquarters claimed otherwise.

Among the amendments, an article in the MHP's charter which prevented the election of chairmen in extraordinary congresses was changed to allow so.

[49] The MHP won the mayorships of Amasya, Kastamonu, Kütahya, Çankırı, Erzincan, Bayburt, Bartın and Karabük provinces.

[50] From 2–7 June 2023, due to being the oldest member, Bahçeli became the temporary speaker of the 28th Grand National Assembly.

On one occasion, a speech he made during the 2009 local elections campaign, which coincided with the 40th anniversary of the MHP, became a meme: When writing 2009, there are two zeros.

[52]Bahçeli accused Russia of murdering Turkish soldiers, who were shot in an accident by Russian fighter planes in 2017.

[55] In October 2024, Bahçeli suggested offering Kurdistan Workers Party leader Abdullah Öcalan parole if the latter renounced violence and disbanded his group.

After Joe Biden became the first US President to officially acknowledge the Armenian genocide on 24 April 2021, Bahçeli threatened Armenians living in Turkey, Turkish leftists, and Turkish citizens who recognized the genocide, with death, stating "When you look at us, we will make sure that you will see Talaat, Enver Pasha, and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

[64] He has close ties to mafia boss Alaettin Çakıcı who he visited in prison,[65] and for who he demanded a general amnesty.

[67] He supported the football team Beşiktaş[68] until 2023, but canceled his membership in the club after fans demanded the government to resign over its deficient response to the earthquake in February 2023 during its match against Konyaspor.