Dogan was born in Pchelarovo to Demire Dogan from Drandar and an unknown father from Pchelarovo, a village with Bulgarian and Roma population. In 1981 he completed his studies in philosophy at Sofia University and in 1986 earned the then equivalent of a doctoral degree after completing a dissertation on the theme of "Philosophical analysis of the principle of symmetry". He is the founder of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), a liberal party that claims to represent the interests of the Turkish minority in Bulgaria.