Mumcu was born in the western
Anatolian town of
Yalvaç in
Isparta Province. His father was Süleyman and his mother was Cemile. He graduated from the
Istanbul University's Faculty of Law. He entered politics in 1995 as deputy of Isparta from the Motherland Party. In 1997–1998, Erkan Mumcu served as secretary general and in 1998–1999, he was vice president of the party. He became a member in the coalition government of
Bülent Ecevit as Minister for Tourism serving from May 28, 1999 to August 8, 2001. He joined the
Justice and Development Party and was reelected from
Isparta in the
2002 elections into the
parliament. In the cabinet of Prime Minister
Abdullah Gül, he was first the Minister of National Education and then the Minister of Culture and Tourism. After a dispute with
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, he resigned on February 15, 2005, and joined the Motherland Party again. Erkan Mumcu was elected 6th president of ANAP at the extraordinary party congress on April 2, 2005. On October 25, 2008, Mumcu resigned the leadership of the Motherland Party. He is married and father of two children. ==References==