Turkey's Former PM Ahmet Davutoglu Announces Exit from Politics

Former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced on Wednesday (February 26) that he would dissolve the Future Party (Gelecek Partisi), which he founded, and step back from politics. He attributed the decision to Turkey's 'polluted political environment.'

In a statement posted on his X account (formerly Twitter), Davutoglu wrote: 'This is not a decision of surrender, but a decision to distance ourselves to preserve ethics. We are not abandoning politics; rather, this is a call for people to rethink politics.'

He criticized the 'corruption, favoritism, and lack of accountability that are eroding moral values. The decline in the perception of corruption has reached an undeniable level.' The former prime minister also condemned the frequent switching of political parties by politicians, the appointment of state administrators instead of elected officials, and argued that the presidential system adopted in 2018 paved the way for authoritarianism and dismantled checks on power.

Davutoglu's Political Journey

Born in 1959 in Konya, central Turkey, Davutoglu graduated from Bogazici University in Istanbul in 1983 with a degree in political science and economics, then earned a PhD in political science and international relations from the same institution.

He was highly regarded in academia. In 1990, he became an assistant professor at the International Islamic University of Malaysia, where he founded and headed the Department of Political Science. From 1995 to 1999, he taught at Marmara University in Istanbul. Subsequently, he was a visiting lecturer at the Turkish Military Academy and the War Academy in Istanbul (1998-2002), and then served as a professor and chair of International Relations at Beykent University (1999-2004).

He has published several books on foreign policy in both English and Turkish.

Joining AKP and Role as Policy Architect

After the November 2002 elections brought the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to power, Davutoglu joined the party and became the chief advisor to the Prime Minister. He was a key advisor to Erdogan during his rise to power and in shaping Turkey's foreign policy under the AKP.

He played a central role in the doctrine of 'zero problems with neighbors' implemented from the 2000s, aimed at boosting trade and reducing conflict with neighboring countries in the Middle East and the Balkans. After the 2011 uprising in Syria, he was the architect of Turkey's policy supporting the rebels against President Bashar al-Assad, believing it to be the morally right approach.

Tenure as Foreign Minister and Prime Minister

Davutoglu served as Foreign Minister from 2009 to 2014, then became Prime Minister after Erdogan ascended to the presidency in 2014. However, differences began to emerge between the two leaders on significant issues, including EU negotiations and the country's governance.

In August 2015, after the AKP failed to secure a parliamentary majority in the June 2015 elections, Davutoglu held coalition negotiations with the Republican People's Party (CHP), the second-largest party, and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the third-largest, but failed to reach an agreement with either.

In 2016, disagreements between Davutoglu and Erdogan led to his replacement by Binali Yildirim as Prime Minister. Nurettin Canikli, then head of the AKP's parliamentary group, explained to Al Jazeera at the time: 'The problem is that the constitution does not clearly define where the powers of the Prime Minister and the President begin and end. Even if they are good friends and share the same political background, they can still have differing views on every issue. When they try to exercise power simultaneously, they cannot find common ground.'

Formation of the Future Party

In September 2019, Davutoglu announced his resignation from the AKP and said he would establish his own party. At the time, the AKP had decided to refer him to its disciplinary board for expulsion. Previously, he had accused the AKP of straying from its core principles, criticized the government's economic performance, and targeted Erdogan himself.

In December 2019, he founded the Future Party in Ankara as a conservative but pro-democracy alternative to the AKP. However, the party failed to gain traction, securing only 0.11% of the vote in the 2024 elections.