The following is a list of notable Turkish Germans. This includes people of full or partial ethnic Turkish origin born in Germany, as well as ethnic Turkish immigrants who have arrived in Germany either from the Seljuk and Ottoman territories or from post-Ottoman modern nation-states (especially from the Republic of Turkey, but also from the Balkans, Cyprus, as well as other parts of the Levant and North Africa).
Most notable Turkish Germans originate from the Republic of Turkey; however, there are also notable Germans of ethnic Turkish origin who came from Seljuk Anatolia (e.g. ) and the Ottoman Empire (e.g. , Fatima Kariman and ). In addition, there are notable ethnic Turks who come from other post-Ottoman modern nation-states, especially from the Balkans (e.g. Ozan Güven, Filiz Osmanodja, Erol Sabanov, and Kemal Kurt are of Turkish Bulgarian origin; Hüdai Ülker is of Turkish Macedonian origin; Ateed and Cemile Giousouf are of Turkish Western Thracian origin), the island of Cyprus (e.g. Turgay Hilmi, Atesh Salih, and Rüya Taner are of Turkish Cypriot origin), the Levant (e.g. is of Turkish Iraqi origin; Burak Karan is of Turkish Syrian origin; and Bilal Aziz Özer is of Turkish Lebanese origin), etc.
This list is arranged alphabetically by surname following the Turkish alphabet arrangement. Notable ethnic Turks who originate from outside the modern borders of Turkey (i.e. from the Balkans, Cyprus, the Levant, etc.) are listed with their origin. Furthermore, individuals who are of partial Turkish origin are listed with their dual identity.
Academia and medicine
, political scientist; co-founder of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights Ufuk Akcigit, Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Gülşen Aktaş, educator Ian F. Akyildiz, Chair Professor in Telecommunications , Professor of Computer Science at Technische Universität Berlin , sociologist; Professor at the University of Frankfurt am Main Götz Aly, journalist, historian and political scientist , social scientist; lecturer at the HafenCity University Hamburg , legal scholar and founding member of Dokuz Eylül University Ülkü Azrak, Professor of Political Sciences Yaşar Bilgin, doctor and politician; co-founder and chairman of the Turkish-German Health Foundation , doctor and art collector (Turkish father and German mother) , psychiatrist , co-founder of Qiagen , Associate Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Waterloo , sociologist , political scientist , ergonomist; editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Behaviour & Information Technology , teaches at the University of Cologne , president of Technische Universität Berlin , founder of the Ararat-Verlag publishing house , linguist and educational scientist , psychologist and sociologist Semra Eren-Nijhar, sociologist , architect Ali Ertürk a neuroscientist, inventor, He is the director of a new Helmholtz Institute on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (iTERM) in Munich , doctor and philosopher , Professor of Cardiology , Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Siegen , physician , Germanist (Turkish father and German mother) Alexander Görlach, senior research associate at Cambridge University Zümrüt Gülbay-Peischard, Professor of Business Law at the Berlin School of Economics and Law Onur Güntürkün, Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience at Ruhr University Bochum Dilek Gürsoy, heart surgeon; the first female surgeon in Europe to implant an artificial heart , Professor of Law at the University of Hagen , Professor of Turkish Literature at the University of Duisburg-Essen (1998–2009) , philosopher and internist , Turkologist; Vice President for Internationality and Diversity at the University of Bremen (2011–17) Necla Kelek, feminist and social scientist , Professor of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences Caghan Kizil, neuroscientist and geneticist , social scientist; managing director of Allianz Kulturstiftung (Turkish father and Macedonian mother) , sociologist; Professor at Leibniz Universität Hannover , cardiologist , historian and expert on the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey , Professor of Engineering at the Institute for Mechanical Engineering / Materials Science at the Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences , Vice President of the University of Kassel (1986–90) , doctor and former politician , historian , chemist , geoscientists and Professor of Hydrogeology at the Free University of Berlin , dentist; awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit in 2007 Fuat Sezgin Ziya Saylan, former president of the European Academy of Cosmetic Surgery , Germanist, ancient historian, writer and translator Uğur Şahin, Professor of Experimental Oncology at the University of Mainz; co-founder of BioNTech which developed the first approved messenger RNA-based vaccine against COVID-19 Faruk Şen, former director of the Stiftung für Türkeistudien und Integrationsforschung and professor at the University of Essen , literary scholar , , founder of SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences Sabriye Tenberken, tibetologist and co-founder of the organisation Braille Without Borders , Turkologist , Professor of Experimental Physics at the TU Dortmund University Sefaattin Tongay, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Arizona State University , Professor of Educational Sciences at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts , director of the Zentrum für Islamische Theologie (Universität Tübingen) at the University of Tübingen Özlem Türeci, physician and scientist; Privatdozentin at Johannes Gutenberg University; co-founder of BioNTech which developed the first approved messenger RNA-based vaccine against COVID-19 , political scientist , Professor of Islamic Studies at the Osnabrück University , psychologist; head of the Foundation Center for Turkish Studies and Integration Research , Professor for Urban Development and Planning Practice at the Technical University of Cologne , doctor; he received the Order of Merit of Berlin in 1993 , Professor of Music Theory at the Robert Schumann Hochschule , ethnologist , Professor and Director of the Research Center for Turkish Law at the University of Erlangen–Nuremberg , political scientist , Germanist and literary critic (Turkish father and German mother) , economist and sociologist; director of Harriet Taylor Mill Institute for Economics and Gender Studies at the Berlin School of Economics and Law , Professor of Sociology; Director for Berlin Institute of Migration Research at the Humboldt University of Berlin (2023–25) , Professor of German at Trakya University
Arts and literature
, author , journalist , audio book speaker , writer , author , theater director Doğan Akhanlı, historical novelist , author , writer, radio and television journalist , journalist and writer , installation and performance artist , journalist and writer Hakan Albayrak, journalist and activist Ozlem Altin, visual artist , author and migration policy expert Ayşe Arman, journalist and columnist (Turkish father and a German mother) , writer , artist and painter , writer and poet , journalist , cabaret artist, satirist and performing artist Fatma Aydemir, author and journalist , author and campaigner; co-founder of Kanak Attak , graffiti artist, breakdancer, and beatboxer , cartoonist and satirist Esmahan Aykol, novelist (Turkish Macedonian/Turkish Bulgarian father and Turkish mother) , cabaret artist, book author, and integration activist , author and social worker , author , journalist and author , writer Fakir Baykurt, author and trade unionist Murad Bayraktar, journalist and editor Habib Bektaş, writer , writer Şakir Bilgin, writer , journalist , cartoonist, playwright and journalist , journalist and radio presenter , author İnci Bürhaniye, co-founder of Binooki Verlag , journalist , poet , early authors on the "Literature of Migrants" in Germany , children's book author , author , interior designer , journalist, author and pilot Nevfel Cumart, writer, speaker, literary translator and journalist Sabri Çakır, poet , choreographer and interdisciplinary performance artist , journalist , author of children's and youth literature Zehra Çırak, poet , painter and graphic artist , writer and theatre actress , publisher and literary translator; founder of the Dağyeli Verlag publishing house Güney Dal, writer , poet , author of children's and youth literature Adil Demirci, journalist , journalist , architect based in Cologne and Frechen , theater director, cabaret artist, and author , author , journalist and author , journalist, translator and author , theater director Cengiz Doğu, poet and activist , author Özlem Özgül Dündar, author and translator , writer and doctor , painter and object artist Işıl Eğrikavuk, artist , poet and translator from Russian into Turkish , literary translator , satirist , writer , journalist , author and social worker Ayşe Erkmen, visual artist İsmet Ergün, painter and stage designer Aslı Erdoğan, writer and author , theater director and author , author and journalist Semra Ertan, writer and activist , author; managing board member of the Documentation Center and Museum about Migration in Germany , author and journalist , journalist and poet , children's book author , mime artist, director and theatre teacher , writer , artist , journalist , co-founder and board member of the à la turca theater , author , author Mehmet Güler, painter , journalist and publicist Kübra Gümüşay, journalist, blogger, and activist , painter, sculptor, writer, and comedian , editor and literary translator; co-founder of Buntbuch-Verlag publishing house , journalist; former head of the Turkish-language editorial team at Deutsche Welle , journalist , journalist, publicist, and non-fiction author Tatjana Gürbaca, opera director (Turkish father and Italian mother) , author and poet , journalist , writer and playwright Osman Kalin, built the Baumhaus an der Mauer in Berlin Celal Kandemiroglu, graphic artist Yadé Kara, writer , writer , theater director Suzan Emine Kaube, writer, painter and pedagogue , writer and publicist , writer Murat Kaya, comics author , comic artist , non-fiction author , puppeteer; master of Karagöz and Hacivat , sculptor and painter Kemal Kurt, author, translator and photographer (Turkish Bulgarian origin) Şeyda Kurt , writer Nuray Lale, writer Şermin Langhoff, director of the Maxim Gorki Theater , author and alternative practitioner in psychotherapy Souad Mekhennet, journalist (Turkish mother and Moroccan father) , dancer and choreographer , journalist (Turkish father and a German mother) , cartoonist , writer , cartoonist and founder of Kabarett Knobi-Bonbon Aras Ören, writer , journalist and author Emine Sevgi Özdamar, dramatist and playwright , writer , poet , writer , poet and literary translator , journalist and deputy editor-in-chief of Business Insider , author , crime writer , novelist and non-fiction writer Ertuğrul Özkök, journalist , author and translator , cabaret artist , writer and cabaret artist , cabaret artist Yüksel Pazarkaya, writer and translator Akif Pirinçci, writer , author, journalist, and theater pedagogue , painter , novelist , author , dancer , writer Saliha Scheinhardt, writer , , writer , author , journalist and author , visual artist , journalist, radio presenter and writer , artist and author Murad Sezer, photographer , writer, publicist and journalist (Turkish father and German mother) , journalist Necmi Sönmez, curator, art critic and writer , artist , writer and publicist Asli Sungu, performance artist and painter , journalist, author, and editor , theater director; founder of Arkadaş Theater , editor-in-chief of the magazine "Ayasofya"