Ahmet Davutoğlu

On 29 July 2026, Davutoğlu announced the end of Gelecek Partisi's political activities and his withdrawal from party politics, following several years of poor electoral results and erosion of its parliamentary group.

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Direct responsibility

In 2019, Davutoğlu publicly criticised the AKP's governance, economic policies and alliances, then left the party while facing possible disciplinary proceedings, before founding the Future Party.

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Political responsibility

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused Davutoğlu and former AKP-linked officials of attempting to harm Halkbank in the Şehir University case involving public land transferred to the university foundation. Davutoğlu described the allegations as slander and called for scrutiny of his assets.

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Directly implicated

In 2016, Davutoğlu lost part of his authority over internal AKP appointments amid growing tensions with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, before stepping down as party leader and Prime Minister.

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Political responsibility

As Foreign Minister and then Prime Minister, Davutoğlu was one of the principal architects of Turkey's policy of supporting the Syrian opposition and seeking Bashar al-Assad's departure. The protracted war, rise of jihadist groups, Kurdish tensions and refugee crisis prompted sustained criticism of this doctrine.

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Political responsibility

Following the "We will not be a party to this crime" petition signed by academics criticising security operations in the south-east, signatories faced investigations, disciplinary proceedings and detention. Davutoğlu publicly argued that the text exceeded the limits of freedom of expression and called on academics to distance themselves from it.

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Political responsibility

Following the car bombing in Ankara in February 2016, Davutoğlu publicly attributed the attack to a member of the Syrian YPG with PKK support, fuelling international controversy over the perpetrators' identity and links between Kurdish organisations.

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Personally implicated

During the 2015 campaign, Davutoğlu warned that, if Turkey returned to political instability, "white Toros" vehicles might start circulating again. The reference to vehicles associated in Kurdish collective memory with forced disappearances during the 1990s triggered major controversy.

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Personally implicated

Following the double suicide bombing in Ankara in October 2015, Davutoğlu's government faced strong criticism over intelligence and security failures. Police officials were suspended, and Erdoğan acknowledged a possible intelligence failure.

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Political responsibility

During the Gezi protests, Davutoğlu defended the Turkish state against international criticism while acknowledging that some police officers may have made mistakes. He rejected the portrayal of Turkey as undemocratic and denounced violence by certain protesters.

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Attribution

Political responsibility