Dr. Mehmet Gürcan Daimagüler, MPA (Harvard)
Languages: German, Turkish, English
Dr. Mehmet Gürcan Daimagüler brings together more than two decades of legal, economic and political experience in his work as an attorney.
From 2022 to 2025 he was a Federal Government Commissioner and chaired a permanent joint federal-state commission. He has also served as a parliamentary adviser in the German Bundestag and in the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament, as a member of the federal executive board of a party and as a member of the Federal Convention for the 2022 election of the Federal President. He has also served, and continues to serve, on advisory bodies such as the Security Commission of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. He has spoken in the German Bundestag, before the UN Human Rights Council and in the European Parliament, among others. Through these roles he knows ministries, parliament and public administration from the inside: how decisions are prepared, how authorities work and how legislation comes about.
Education
Studied law and economics and earned a doctorate at the Universities of Bonn and Kiel. Master in Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard University. Fellowship at Yale University. Summer schools at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and at the Université de Lausanne.
Teaching and legal publications
- Lecturer in fundamental and human rights for police officers at the Berlin School of Economics and Law (HWR Berlin)
- Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Bielefeld University
- Visiting Scholar at Yale University
- Author in the Münchener Kommentar on the German Code of Criminal Procedure (C.H. Beck)
- Author of the handbook “Der Verletzte im Strafverfahren” (The Victim in Criminal Proceedings, C.H. Beck)
- Further publications in legal journals
International networks
- Alumnus of Harvard University and Yale University
- Alumnus of the Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and regular speaker at the WEF
- Eisenhower Fellow of Eisenhower Fellowships, Philadelphia (USA)
- Transatlantic Fellow of the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt
- Founder of the German-Norwegian Network
- Alumnus of the Atlantik-Brücke Young Leaders programme for German-American relations
Awards
Manfred Rommel Prize
For his commitment to understanding and social cohesion.
Emerging Global Leader Award
Awarded by the Harvard Kennedy School to outstanding alumni.
Young Global Leader
Selected by the World Economic Forum.
Business
Management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. Management trainee at a leading European media company. Chief Compliance Officer at a Swiss private equity firm. Head of Strategy for the Middle East and Africa at a publicly listed energy company, working from Istanbul and Doha, with a focus on renewable energy and clean tech.
Law and politics
Member of advisory bodies, including the Security Commission of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the state government's Integration Advisory Council and the Board of Trustees of the German Institute for Human Rights. Parliamentary adviser and chief of staff to a parliamentary group leader in the German Bundestag and in the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament. Member of the federal executive board of a party represented in the Bundestag. Member of the Federal Convention (Bundesversammlung) for the 2022 election of the Federal President. Former Federal Government Commissioner (2022–2025).
Professional background and publications
Partner in a business law firm. Contributing commentator to the Münchener Kommentar on the German Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO). Author of a handbook on the rights of crime victims as well as numerous other books and articles on legal and political topics.
His books and guest articles, including in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Zeit, taz, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Der Standard and Die Welt, are listed under Press & Publications.
This combination of criminal-law practice, senior business leadership and political advisory work makes him a sought-after point of contact for matters that require legal, economic and political judgement alike – from business and tax criminal proceedings to cases with a public or political dimension. His long-standing network in politics and the media feeds into the strategic assessment of proceedings with public impact – for example, how a case is perceived publicly and what communication makes sense alongside the legal defence.