Devlet Bahçeli, Turkish economist, academic, and politician, 57th Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
Devlet Bahçeli (born 1 January 1948) is a Turkish politician, economist, former Deputy Prime Minister, and current chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).An academic in economics from Gazi University, Bahçeli is a founder of the Grey Wolves, and was elected as the Chairman of the MHP in the first congress held after the death of Alparslan Türkeş in 1997. He entered parliament for the first time in the 1999 general elections as a deputy from Osmaniye, taking part as Deputy Prime Minister in DSP-MHP-ANAP coalition established by Bülent Ecevit between 1999 and 2002, and ultimately bringing the government down. He resigned from his position as Chairman when his party fell below the 10% electoral threshold in the 2002 general elections, but was re-elected Chairman in the 2003 congress. Bahçeli and his party have been serving in the Grand National Assembly since regaining seats in parliament in 2007.Bahçeli was initially a fierce critic of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan until interparty crisis occurred following MHP's poor performance in the November 2015 general elections, with opponents within MHP demanding an extraordinary party congress when Bahçeli refused to step down. A congress was finally held on 19 June 2016 and an article in the party's constitution that prevented the election of a chairman in extraordinary congresses was changed. However, these changes were stopped by the decision of the Supreme Court. MHP politicians who campaigned for the "No" campaign in the 2017 Constitutional Referendum were expelled from the party, resulting in Meral Akşener founding the İYİ Party on 25 October 2017.

Bahçeli formed an electoral alliance with the AKP called the People's Alliance for the 2018 general election and maintained this alliance in the 2019 local elections. MHP currently supports president Erdoğan's cabinet with confidence and supply in the Grand National Assembly. Bahçeli has been described as a kingmaker in Turkish politics.