About Mayor
Fatma Sahin was born in Gaziantep in 1966. She completed her primary, secondary, and high school education in Gaziantep, and later graduated from the Istanbul Technical University, Department of Chemistry and Metallurgy.
Starting her career in Gaziantep Organized Industrial Zone, she worked as an Industrial Engineer and Plant Manager for 15 years.
In 2001, she became a founding member of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Gaziantep. She was elected as the first female deputy from Gaziantep in the 2002 general elections. She served as a member of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) in the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th terms as a representative from Gaziantep.
During her tenure in the TBMM, she held positions such as a member of the Industry, Trade and Energy Committee, member of the Turkish-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee, and Chairwoman of the Research Committee on Violence Against Women and Children.
She took on roles in the AK Party Central Women's Branch, serving as the Deputy President responsible for Organization and later as the Deputy President responsible for Political Affairs. She served as the President of the AK Party Central Women's Branch from 2007 to 2011.
Following the 2011 general elections, she was appointed as the Founding Minister of Family and Social Policies in the 61st government, making her the first female minister from the Southeastern Anatolia Region.
In the local elections held on March 30, 2014, she was elected as the Mayor of Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, becoming one of Turkey's first female metropolitan mayors. On May 8, 2018, she was elected as the President of the Union of Turkish Municipalities.
She served as the President of the Asian Mayors Forum from 2016 to 2019, Vice President of the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) in 2016, and President of the UCLG Middle East and West Asia Section (UCLG MEWA).
With the initiative of Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Fatma Sahin, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) declared Gaziantep a "Green City" on November 2, 2021.
In 2021, she became the first mayor from Turkey to be selected for the OECD Champion Mayors Initiative.
In 2023, she was appointed as a member of the UN Advisory Group on Local and Regional Governments by António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
She served as the President of the Union of Turkish Municipalities from 2019 to 2023.
Currently married and the mother of two children, Sahin continues to serve as the Mayor of Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality.