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Ferat Koçak

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Ferat Koçak
Koçak in 2022
Member of the Bundestag
for Berlin-Neukölln
Assumed office
23 February 2025
Preceded byHakan Demir
Member of the
Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin
for Neukölln 5
Assumed office
26 September 2021
Preceded byRobbin Juhnke [de]
Personal details
Born(1979-05-26)26 May 1979
West Berlin, West Germany
Political partyDie Linke
EducationFree University of Berlin
WebsiteFerat Koçak - Die Linke Fraktion Berlin

Ferat Koçak is a German politician of Kurdish origins[1] and member of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin for The Left since 2021. He represents a district including Neukolln. He has received several threats from right-wing groups including NSU 2.0.[2]

In the 2025 federal election, Koçak stood as a direct candidate in the Berlin-Neukölln constituency.[3] Early results indicated he won the seat by over 10 percent,[4] with journalist Ruairí Casey attributing this to a massive door-knocking campaign.[5] Koçak declared victory that night.[6]

Early life

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Koçak grew up in West Berlin as the grandchild of Kurdish guest workers from Anatolia.

He studied economics at the Free University of Berlin and graduated with a degree in economics. Koçak then worked for the Allianz Group, first as a trainee and then, after successfully completing his exams, in management. He then worked as a marketing director with a focus on digital marketing at the Berliner Hochschule für Technik (BHT) and at other universities, and later as a campaigner at Campact.

Political career

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Koçak was raised by his parents in left-wing Kurdish and Turkish circles in Berlin. He joined The Left in 2016 due to the rise of right-wing groups, particularly the far-right Alternative for Germany, which he and his friends wanted to help fight. In the 2016 Berlin state election, Koçak stood for The Left in the Neukölln 6 constituency of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin. He managed to double the share of the vote for his party compared to the last election, but he failed to gain a seat in the Abgeordnetenhaus.

Legislative service

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In the 2021 Berlin state election, Koçak ran for the Abgeordnetenhaus again in the Neukölln 5 constituency, and was elected via the Left Party's state list. He was re-elected to the Abgeordnetenhaus in the 2023 repeat election.

Koçak is the spokesman for The Left's parliamentary group on the topics of anti-fascist politics as well as refugee and climate policy. He is a member of the Committees for the Interior, Security and Order as well as the Environment and Climate Protection. He is a deputy member of the Committee for the Protection of the Constitution.[7] He is also an assessor of the Presidium of the Abgeordnetenhaus.[8]

Regarding the war in Gaza, Koçak believes that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians.[9]

In the 2025 federal election, he ran as a direct candidate for The Left in the Berlin-Neukölln constituency[10] and won a direct mandate for the party.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Linken-Politiker Ferat Kocak - "Die Spur des NSU 2.0 führt bis nach Neukölln"". Deutschlandfunk Kultur (in German). 22 July 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  2. ^ "German politician kept in dark over far-right threat: report – DW – 03/18/2022". dw.com. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  3. ^ Heflik, Katharina (9 January 2025). "Die Neuwahl verspricht einige spannende Duelle: Hier sind Berlins Direktkandidaten".
  4. ^ a b "Germany Election Results". decisiondeskhq.com. Decision Desk HQ. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  5. ^ Casey, Ruairí [@Ruairi_Casey] (23 February 2025). "Die Linke ran a massive ground campaign in Neukölln, knocking on every door in the district" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ Koçak, Ferat [@der_neukoellner] (23 February 2025). "Wir haben gewonnen - Neukölln strikes back!" (Tweet) (in German) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ "Ferat Koçak, MdA". 1 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  8. ^ "Das Präsidium" (in German). Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  9. ^ Markus Ströhlein. "Bedenken second" (in German). Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  10. ^ "Berliner Linke wählt Landesliste und startet in den Wahlkampf". Retrieved 31 December 2024.