Mansur YAVAŞ was born on May 23, 1955 in Beypazarı, Ankara. YAVAŞ, a lawyer and politician, is serving his second term as Mayor of Ankara. He is married and has two children.
YAVAŞ, who completed his primary, secondary and high school education in Beypazarı district of Ankara, graduated from Istanbul University Faculty of Law in 1983. He worked as a freelance lawyer in Beypazarı for 13 years.
His interest in politics began in his youth, and he was elected Mayor of Beypazarı for two terms between 1999 and 2009, and carried out important work.
Mansur YAVAŞ has undertaken a wide range of projects that have completely transformed the Beypazarı district. Along with the positive changes it made in the district's living standards, tourism, social life and infrastructure services, it also gave great importance to rural production. While it enabled international festivals to be held in Beypazarı, it brought the historical and local texture as well as the appearance of the district to the present day with building restorations. With the promotion of local delicacies, Beypazarı has become an important value for capital tourism and the region has become a popular destination for tourism. YAVAŞ has been deemed worthy of various awards for its work here.
YAVAŞ later took his political career one step higher and was elected as the Mayor of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality from the Republican People's Party for his first term in the local elections held in 2019 and for his second term in 2024.
After taking office in 2019, he went beyond the usual practices in the management system, adopted concepts such as "transparent, social, accountable, productive Municipality" approach, which is a first in Turkey, and introduced the "Mansur YAVAŞ Municipality" model to the whole world.
It has implemented practices that are taken as an example throughout the country, have become state policy and have led to trust in the society. Among these;
· Start of live broadcasting of Municipal Council meetings and tenders,
· Opening the license plate tracking system to the public via a digital platform by placing cameras on snow plow vehicles,
· Establishing the Başkent Card system, where every low-income family can shop by determining their own needs and prioritizing the commercial life of tradesmen, and ending the distribution of parcels in social aid,
· Organizing campaigns with the theme of "6 Million One Hearts" during the pandemic period, ensuring that the society maintains its private and commercial lives in unity and solidarity,
· Warning of a fatal disease such as SMA seen in children with early diagnosis tests in couples who are getting married, HPV vaccination for women, supply of diabetes sensors for students who will take the exam, combating addiction, access to hygienic materials, expanding the internet infrastructure throughout the city and providing free internet use,
· Equal opportunities in education and increasing opportunities for raising healthy children and young people, raising children with the same opportunities as their peers,
Main scopes include establishing solidarity networks and gathering support from universities, hospitals, public, private and non-governmental organizations in combating disasters and improving living conditions.
The work he has accomplished so far has led to him being deemed worthy of a wide variety of national and international awards. Among these;
· Council of Europe: “European Label of Governance Excellence Award” (ELoGe – European Label of Governance Excellence) (2023)
· Union of Historical Cities: "Union of Historical Cities Implementation Achievement Award" for "Inner Castle Street Improvement Project" (2023)
· KalDer – “My Purple Map” project (2023) and “Contracted Manufacturing Model” project (2022) Awards in the Public Inspiring Project Category by the Turkish Quality Association
· Hacettepe University, “Crystal Deer Award” (2022)
· “2021 World Mayor Capital Award” (2021) by the UK-based Mayors Foundation (The City Mayors Foundation)
· “2020 Transparency Award” (2021) by Transparency International Association within the scope of “9 December World Anti-Corruption Day” with international status
· “Social Social Responsibility Gold Award”, “Economic Responsibility Gold Award” and “Social Innovation Gold Award” in the “Positive Social Impact” category with the “Başkent Kart” project within the scope of the Sardis Awards (2021).
· National "Most Transparent Municipality" award by the Human Development Foundation (INGEV) (2021 and 2022)