Mr. Haluk Özdalga previously did political work for many years in both the Democratic Left party (DSP) and the Republican People’s Party (CHP), at the grass-roots level as well as at these parties’ headquarters at executive level.

In 2007 he joined the AKP, the governing party, together with a number of other social democratic politicians. He was a Member of Parliament representing Ankara for two periods (2007-2015). He resigned from the AKP in December 2013.

In the Parliament he served as the Chair of the Environment Committee, and the Vice-Chair of the Turkey-EU Parliamentary Committee.

He is the author of several books including varying subjects such as history of the European social democracy, mismanagement of Turkey through the existing political party system, and Turkey’s external relations. He is presently working on a book elaborating the issues that caused the rise of the Jihadist Salafiyya.