Ankara mayor granted 2021 World Mayor Capital Award

Photo: Ankara Metropolitan Municipality

Click to read the article in Turkish

Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş has been granted the World Mayor Capital Award by the City Mayors Foundation.

The award was conferred on Yavaş for his efforts and vision to build a metropolis that will equal the great capitals of Europe and Asia, the foundation said.

"Since being elected mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavaş has developed a leadership style based on public trust and transparency. His fight against corruption shows courage and conviction.

"Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş has supported the poor and the most vulnerable segments of the society, though a range of safety-net programmes, including food aid, monetary support, and the provision of other vital services."

Yavaş, a member of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), was elected in the March 2019 local elections, ending the 25-year spell of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its predecessors in the capital city.

The municipality's investments in green city projects, electrification of public transport, clean water and renewable energy were also a reason for winning the prize, according to the City Mayors Foundation.

"From the onset of the Covid pandemic, Mayor Yavaş understood the importance of keeping people fully informed. He provided internet access to areas with poor connections and made full use of social media to communicate with his fellow citizens.

"The measures the Mayor has already introduced and his vision for the Turkish capital will make Ankara a more resilient and sustainable city.

"Judging by the thousands of testimonials and comments received by the World Mayor Project, the people of Ankara and many from other parts or Turkey believe that Mansur Yavaş will transform the city into one of the great capitals of the world."

About Mansur Yavaş

Lawyer and the Metropolitan Mayor of Ankara.

He completed his primary, secondary and high school education in Ankara's Beypazarı district and studied law at İstanbul University.

Also working as a self-employed lawyer, he entered politics in the late 1980s. He was elected as a Municipal Council member in Beypazarı as a member of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

Yavaş was a candidate for the mayor of Beypazarı in 1994, but was not elected. He won the election in 1999 and served as the mayor of the district until 2008.

In 2001, he was granted the "Best Local Governor" award for his efforts for the restoration of the historical Beypazarı Houses and the preservation of the district's history.

In 2009, he was the MHP candidate for Ankara mayor. In 2014, he switched to the Republican People's Party (CHP) and lost the election to the city's long-time mayor, Melih Gökçek, by only 1 percent.

In his third attempt in 2019, he was elected the mayor of Ankara with more than 50 percent of the votes.

(EMK/VK)