The elected mayor of Turkey's southeastern province of Diyarbakır, Dr. Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı spent decades working as a doctor before taking office. He completed his medical training at Turkey’s Hacettepe University in 1988 and went on to complete surgeon’s training at Dicle University in 1996.

During his 22 years working at hospitals in Diyarbakır, Mızraklı has held various positions in the city’s Chamber of Physicians, which he chaired from 2008 to 2010.

Mızraklı stood as the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) candidate in the national elections in 2018, winning a seat in parliament.

In 2019, Mızraklı resigned from his parliamentary position to run in the local elections, and was elected as Mayor of Diyarbakır on March 31 that year with 63 percent of the vote. On Aug. 19, 2019, the Turkish Interior Ministry suspended him from the role, citing alleged terror links, and replaced him with a government appointee.