Mustafa Atici

He is the first cantonal councillor with a migration background in the canton of Basel-Stadt. Born in Türkiye in 1969, Mustafa Atici came to Switzerland as a 23-year-old student. The Turkish Kurd found a new home in Basel, started a family and set up as a culinary entrepreneur after completing his business studies. His kebab shops are known throughout the city, including at the St. Jakob football stadium, where the staunch FC Basel fan can be found on match days. Atici joined the Swiss Social Democratic Party (SP) in 2001 and entered the cantonal parliament three years later, where he remained a member for almost 14 years. In 2019, he transferred to the National Council but he was not re-elected in 2023. This spring saw Atici gain a government mandate in his home canton. Atici referred to his election as “a success for diversity”. “People shouldn’t see a Mustafa in Basel as being somehow different anymore.” There is admittedly a particularly high number of people with a migration background in the city canton. Atici was never in any doubt about becoming naturalised. He encourages others to do the same: “We live here, we work here, we can play our part.” As director of education, he wants to do still more for integration. As a member of parliament, he also worked hard to ensure the children of migrants learned the national language before starting school. Atici speaks High German with an audible accent. He responds to criticism of his level of German with equanimity. He is more concerned with the hostility about his background that he encountered during the election. It was the first time he had encountered so much hate during 20 years in politics, he said when interviewed. It affected him, as he feels patriotic about his country: “I love Basel and Switzerland.” 

www.mustafaatici.ch