Abdurrahman Mustafa

Abdurrahman Mustafa was born in 1964, in the Turkmen village of Tell Hajar (Turkish:Taşlıhüyük) in the Aleppo Governorate of Syria. Mustafa is a Sunni Muslim of Turkish origin and Syrian Turkmen ethnicity. He is married. Mustafa studied at the School of Commerce of the University of Aleppo, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Business and Management in 1984. In addition to Arabic, he is fluent in Turkish and has knowledge of English. ==Business career==

After graduating, Mustafa held various positions in the private sector across several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Libya, and Bulgaria. In 1988, he was appointed Director of Finance and Administration in Libya for Kotaman A.Ş, later becoming the company's Regional Director. Between 1993 and 1996, he was involved in trade activities in Bulgaria and Turkey. In 1996, Mustafa joined the Turkish-based Özkesoğlu Group, where he held roles such as Regional Director for Libya and later for Syria. He remained with the company until 2012, when he left the business sector to become more actively involved in politics following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011. ==Political career==

Mustafa was one of the founding members of the Syrian Turkmen Platform, an organization which was founded on 15 December 2012. When the Syrian Turkmen Assembly was founded on May 2013, becoming the successor organization of the Syrian Turkmen Platform, During his tenure, the Assembly's activities became more organized and visible. Under his leadership, the Assembly officially affiliated with the Syrian Turkmen Brigades as its armed wing, declared the Syrian Turkmen flag as a national symbol, and pursued more coordinated efforts alongside the broader opposition. The Assembly also developed closer ties with Turkey and the United States in the war against the Islamic State, particularly along the Azaz–Jarabulus corridor, and was recognized by several international actors as part of the "moderate opposition." Mustafa received support from Turkey, as well as from Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia (prior to regional policy shifts) and Qatar, and was viewed by the United States as a representative of moderate opposition factions. He led the Syrian Turkmen delegation during the 2016 Geneva III peace talks as an official component of the broader Syrian opposition. Following the Syrian National Coalition’s expansion, the Syrian Turkmen Assembly was granted membership, increasing Turkmen representation within the coalition. In May 2017, Mustafa was elected vice president of the Coalition under president Riad Seif. Analysts have noted that Mustafa played a central role in aligning the SNC more closely with Turkish strategic interests. He later met with President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on 19 March 2025 to discuss the political transition. ==References ==