Melih Bulu

Melih Bulu (born 15 August 1970) is a Turkish academic and politician. Having served as the Justice and Development Party's Sarıyer District President in 2002, Bulu was previously a candidate for nomination in the 2009 local election and the June 2015 general election. Bulu was appointed as the rector of Boğaziçi University by a presidential decree on January 1, 2021. His appointment was controversial and subject to protests by hundreds of students, professors, and lecturers, as well as by NGOs. These protests occurred due to undemocratic nature of the appointment. The enactment that granted the President of Turkey the right to appoint university rectors was given during the now-abolished state of emergency, following the 2016 coup d'état attempt. The nature of Bulu's appointment caused him to become known as "Kayyum Rektör" (Trustee Rector). He was eventually removed from his position by a presidential decree on 15 July 2021. Prior to his appointment as the rector of Boğaziçi University, he served as the rector of İstinye University and Haliç University, and held various faculty positions at Istanbul Commerce University and Istanbul Şehir University.