You see that dress and helmet; his parents were rich, not upper class, rich, and you can tell by what extra curriculars the children take part in. While there are different levels of horsemanship sports, they're all at the top end of the financial spectrum. You have martial arts and various sports, with Hockey being on the high end due to the cost of pads and skates; but those pale in comparison to keeping a horse and other associated costs. That picture could be staged just to have him look higher than the family really is; but at face value, his family was wealthy when he was growing up. And horsemanship is one of those things you have your kids do to flaunt your social status; there's no other point to have them do it than to let the other families know you can afford a horse, the gear, and the lessons. Although looking at the photo... his jacket isn't ironed and looks like an improper fit...
Hasan claims to have grown up in New Jersey and that his Dad has a PhD in Economics. His father, Mehmet Piker -
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archive) appears to have lived in West Freehold, New Jersey (although "current city" is Istanbul). The family home since 2005 appears to be this -
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can't archive this link) which is an 80s McMansion but nevertheless a 5 bedroom 3,766 SqFt pile (also hahaha it's the weed number). It recently sold in August.
It's worth noting that Hasan's father's Facebook indicates that he went to LSE (London School of Economics) and a variety of Turkish universities -
Studied at LSE, Studied International relations at Istanbul üniversitesi, Studied orta kademe yöneticilik (middle management) at Boğaziçi Üniversitesi (Bosphorus University), Studied at İstanbul Erkek Lisesi (high school) Class of '79
This meshes with the profile for Dr Mehmet B Piker on Bandırma Onyedi Eylül Üniversitesi, where he was a keynote speaker for some conference -
Born in Istanbul, Dr. Mehmet B. Piker received a degree in Marketing in Bosphorus University upon graduating from Istanbul High School (Istanbul Erkek Lisesi). In 1983, he graduated from Istanbul University, School of Political Sciences, Department of International Relations.
Dr. Piker received his master’s degree from Istanbul University, School of Economics, Department of International Relations in 1985. After conducting research for his doctoral thesis, Automobile Industry in the EC and Türkiye, in London School of Economics as a Jean Monnet Scholar, Dr. Piker received his Ph.D. in 1991 from Istanbul University.
In a professional capacity, Dr. Piker worked at Sabanci Holding for 24 years, in different positions including the Department of Strategy Development and Planning, and Legal Affairs. He held senior level positions, such as the Hacı Ömer Sabancı Holding Ankara Coordinator and was a member of several companies’ Board of Directors. Dr. Piker founded the first European Union Department in the Turkish private sector. During the Customs Union process, he served on various Special Commissions formed by the government. Dr. Piker represented Turkish Business World as a delegate for “Business Europe” in the European Union and worked on projects analyzing the competitiveness of several industrial sectors. From 2005 to 2008 Dr. Piker’s firm, Rekab, defended various sectors in Competition Authority investigations.
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archive)
This in turn meshes with the bio for Mehmet Behçet Piker on the website of Gelecek Partisi ("Future Party") -
Kurucular Kurulu Üyesi
İş İnsanı
Yunanistan’ın Dırama kentinden göç eden bir aileden, İstanbul’da doğan Dr. Mehmet B. Piker, Şişli 19 Mayıs İlkokul’unu bitirdi. İstanbul Erkek Lisesinden mezun olduktan sonra, 1977 yılında Boğaziçi Üniversitesi’nden ve 1983 yılında İstanbul Üniversitesi, Siyasal
Bilgiler Fakültesi, Kamu Yönetimi bölümünden mezun oldu. London School of Economics’te Jean Monnet bursiyeri olarak doktora tezi araştırmaları yaptıktan sonra 1991 yılında İstanbul Üniversitesi’nden doktorasını aldı.
Profesyonel hayatında Dr. Piker Sabancı Holding’de, 24 yıl Planlama ve Hukuk Dairesi de dahil olmak üzere çeşitli konularda görev yaptı. Başkan yardımcılığı, Sabancı Holding Ankara Koordinatörlüğü yaptı ve çeşitli şirketlerde Yönetim Kurulu üyeliklerinde bulundu. Türkiye'de özel sektörde ilk Avrupa Birliği Bölümünü kurdu. Gümrük Birliği sürecinde devlet tarafından kurulan Özel Komisyonlarda görev yaptı.
Dr. Piker Avrupa Birliği’nde de “Business Europe” delegesi olarak Türk İş Dünyasını temsil etti ve bir çok sanayi ve hizmet sektörünün AB karşısında rekabet durumunu analiz eden çalışmalarda bulundu. Dr. Piker’in sahibi olduğu, Rekab, Avrupa Birliği ve Rekabet konularında danışmanlık hizmeti verdi.
Rekabet Hukuku El Kitabı, Şirketler İçin Rekabet Kurallarına Uyum El Kitabı, Brexit Sonrası Yeni Avrupa Birliği Düzeni ve Türkiye’ye Etkisi adlı kitaplarn bulunmaktadır. Ayrıca Avrupa Birliği, Rekabet, Dış Ticaret ve Türk Sanayisi ile ilgli yayınlanmış çeşitli makaleleri vardır.
Founding Board Member
Businessperson
Born in Istanbul to a family that migrated from the city of Drama in Greece, Dr. Mehmet B. Piker completed his primary education at Şişli 19 Mayıs Elementary School. After graduating from Istanbul Erkek High School, he obtained his undergraduate degree from Boğaziçi University in 1977 and later in 1983 from Istanbul University, Faculty of Political Sciences, with a major in Public Administration.
Following his research on a doctoral thesis as a Jean Monnet fellow at the London School of Economics, he received his doctorate from Istanbul University in 1991.
Throughout his professional career, Dr. Piker served in various capacities at Sabancı Holding for 24 years, including the Planning and Legal Affairs Department. He held the position of vice president, coordinated the Ankara office for Sabancı Holding, and served on the Board of Directors of various companies. He was instrumental in establishing the first European Union Department in the private sector in Turkey and participated in Special Commissions set up by the government during the Customs Union process.
Dr. Piker represented the Turkish business world as a "Business Europe" delegate in the European Union and was involved in analyzing the competitive position of various industries and service sectors against the EU. He provided consultancy services on Competition, the European Union, and Competition Law through his firm "Rekab."
Dr. Piker is the author of several books, including "Competition Law Handbook," "Compliance Handbook for Companies on Competition Rules," "The Post-Brexit New European Union Order and Its Impact on Turkey," and has published various articles on the European Union, Competition, Foreign Trade, and the Turkish Industry.
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There's a couple of discrepancies (e.g. what year he graduated, what he studied at Bosphorous University) but I do feel pretty comfortable saying that this clearly is the same Mehmet Piker, the photos indicate the same man, and he is Hasan's father. I'm a bit unclear how he would have conducted so much business with Turkey and the EU while residing in New Jersey, but if he was the Vice President for Sabancı Holding (annual revenue $5 billion) he probably could have justified it, especially since the group has holdings in America.
So the rumour that Hasan Piker's father was a co-founder of Geleck Partsi appears to be true. Whether or not they're a "right wing Islamist" party like is claimed is a bit less clear - Turkish Wikipedia describes them as being "Merkez sağ ve Sağ" ("Centre Right" or "Right") and associates them with "Muhafazakârlık" (Conservativism), "Liberal muhafazakârlık" (Liberal Conservativism) and "Muhafazakâr liberalizm" (Conservative Liberalism) but I'm not seeing anything on there about them being Islamist, although I've found some English language commentators referring to them as "Liberal Islamists".
However they
have agreed to merge with Saadet Partisi (Felicity Party) which
is an Islamist party and is described on Turkish Wikipedia as being Aşırı sağ (Far Right) and supporting İslamcılık (Islamism), Dinî milliyetçilik (Religious Nationalism), Sosyal muhafazakârlık (Social Conservativism), Yeni Osmanlıcılık (Neo-Ottomanism), Millî Görüş ("National Vision", another Islamist movement) and Ümmetçilik (Ummahism, or Pan-Islamicism). So uh yeah, Hasan appears to be the son of a millionaire capitalist who's economically liberal and aligned with Islamism.
