Born in Lice, Diyarbakir in 1963, Tanrikulu graduated from the Law Faculty of Istanbul University, received a Master’s Degree in Public Law from the  Social Sciences Institute of Dicle University and a PhD from the Social Sciences Institute of Kültür University. He served as the President of the Diyarbakir Bar Association from 2002 to 2008.

Tanrikulu was co-founder of the Diyarbakir Branch of the Human Rights Association (1988) and  the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey. Bestowed with the Robert Kennedy Human Rights Award in 1997, Tanrikulu is currently the Deputy Chair of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and MP from Istanbul.