Spokesperson

Halit Habip Oğlu, a member of the Turkish community in Western Thrace in Greece, was born in the village of Mirana (Muratlı) near Komotini in 1965. Habip Oğlu emigrated to Germany with his family at the age of nine and has been living in the city of Witten, Germany, since 1973. Halit Habip Oğlu, who works as an architect at Witten City Council, is married and has three children.

Habip Oğlu has been actively involved in civil society work for over thirty years. Having participated in the foundation of the Western Thrace Turks Mutual Aid and Solidarity Association of Witten in 1988, Habip Oğlu has served as President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) for over 25 years. As ABTTF President, Habip Oğlu shaped ABTTF into a respected and powerful civil society organisation on the international arena, securing special consultative status in the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and establishing a structure with a central office in Germany and representative offices in Brussels and Athens, effectively positioning it as a kind of Foreign Ministry for the Turkish community in Western Thrace.

In 2013, Habip Oğlu was elected Vice-President of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN), the largest umbrella organisation for national and autochthonous minorities in Europe. Re-elected to the FUEN Presidium in the 2016 and 2019 elections, Habip Oğlu served three terms at FUEN as Vice-President responsible for international organisations and FUEN member organisations until 2022.

Habip Oğlu spearheaded the establishment of the Working Group of Turkic Minorities/Communities in FUEN (TAG) in 2013 and has been the FUEN TAG Spokesperson since then. He has extensive international experience and knowledge in minority issues and concerns.