add site
services
publishers
database
health videos
toolbar
stats
live show
health store
more stuff
JOIN/LOGIN
| advertise add site services publishers database health videos
| | about toolbar stats live show health store more stuff JOIN/LOGIN |
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Turkish pronunciation: [reˈdʒep taːˈjip ˈerdoː.an]) (b. February 26, 1954 in Istanbul, Turkey)[1] is a Turkish politician, a former mayor of Istanbul and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey since 14 March 2003. He is also the chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AK Parti), which holds a majority of the seats in the Turkish Parliament.
[edit] Personal life and educationBorn to a Georgian family that moved from Batumi to Rize, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan grew up, in the Kasımpaşa district of Istanbul, a less than affluent neighborhood, famous for its macho honor code.[2] Kasımpaşa men are known to be quick to anger, painfully proud and blunt in word, and he has always been proud of being one.[2] Erdoğan's grandfather "Bagatlı Recep", Recep from Bagat, died in 1916 fighting against the invading Russian and Armenian forces. [3] Erdoğan spent his early childhood in Rize, where his father was a member of the Turkish Coast Guard.[4][4] The family returned to Istanbul when Erdoğan was 13 years old.[4] As a teenager, he sold lemonade and sesame buns on the streets of Istanbul's rougher districts to earn extra money.[4] Brought up in a observant Muslim family, he graduated from a religious high school (İmam Hatip school) and then studied Business Administration at Aksaray School of Economics and Commercial Sciences (now it is known as Marmara University's Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences).[5] In his youth, Erdoğan played semi-professional football in a local club.[5][6][7] The stadium of the local football club of the district he grew up in, Kasımpaşa S.K., a team which is currently playing in the Turkish Süper Lig, is named after him. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan married Emine Erdoğan (née Gülbaran) (b. 1955 in Siirt), whom he met during a conference, on 4 July 1978.[1] The couple has two sons (Ahmet Burak, Necmeddin Bilâl) and two daughters (Esra, Sümeyye).[1] Erdoğan gave a speech in New York on 19 December 2006 in which he talked mainly about the good relations between citizens of Turkey who come from different backgrounds by giving an example from his own life. Erdoğan said that he doesn't have any problems with his wife, Emine Erdoğan, who is of Arab ancestry and originally from a different Muslim denomination (Shāfi‘ī/Ash'ari).[1]. [edit] Early political career[edit] Mayor of Istanbul, 1994-1998
[edit] Imprisonment, 1998Before his conviction, the Welfare Party, of which he was a member at the time, was declared against constitution and shut down by the Turkish constitutional court on the grounds of threatening the kemalist nature of Turkey. Erdogan became a constant speaker at the demonstrations held by his colleagues from the banned Welfare Party. [8] He was given a prison sentence after he had read a poem regarded as a violation of kemalism by judges.[4] [edit] Prime Ministership, 2003-presentSee also: Turkish general election, 2002 and Turkish general election, 2007 In 2001, he established the moderate Justice and Development Party with former Fazilet Partisi and Anavatan Partisi members, and became Prime Minister of Turkey in 2003.[9]  [edit] DemocracyErdogan's pro-EU government instituted several democratic reforms such as giving the European Court of Human Rights supremacy over Turkish courts, diminishing the powers of the 1991 Anti-Terror Law which had constrained Turkey’s democratization, and passing a partial amnesty to reduce penalties faced by many members of the Kurdish terrorist organization PKK who had surrendered to the government. In 2009, the Turkish government under Prime Minister Erdogan announced a plan to help end the quarter-century-long conflict that has cost more than 40,000 lives. The government’s plan, supported by the European Union, allowed the Kurdish language to be used in all broadcast media and political campaigns, and restore Kurdish names to cities and towns that have been given Turkish ones.[10] Such measures, many of which have been required for entry to the European Union, were inconceivable in the early 1980s, when aggressive state policies prohibited use of the Kurdish language and other cultural and political rights for the Kurds. “We took a courageous step to resolve chronic issues that constitute an obstacle along Turkey’s development, progression and empowerment.” Erdogan said regarding the issue.[11] [edit] EconomyIn 2002, Erdogan inherited a Turkish economy deep in recession due to the financial crisis of Ecevit's coalition government. Erdogan supported his Finance Minister Ali Babacan in enforcing macro-economic policies. Erdogan tried to attract more foreign investors to Turkey and lifted most of government regulations, with the average GDP growth rate 7.3% during his premiership. [12] The World Bank praised Erdogan for the couragous reforms and economic stability in the country. [13] [edit] JusticeOn March 2006, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) for the first time in Turkey's history held a press conference and publicly protest the obstruction of the appointment of judges to the high courts for over 10 months. It claimed Erdogan wanted to fill the vacant posts with his own appointees which through this policy Erdoğan was accused of creating a rift with the Turkey's highest court of appeals (the Yargitay) and high administrative court (the Danıştay). Erdogan claimed that the constitution gave the power of assigning members to his elected party.[14] On May 2007, the head of the top court in Turkey has asked prosecutors to consider whether Erdogan should be charged over critical comments regarding the election of Abdullah Gul as president.[14] Erdoğan said the ruling was "a disgrace to the justice system", and criticized the Constitutional Court which had invalidated a presidential vote because a boycott of other parties meant there was no quorum. Prosecutors have already investigated his earlier comments, including saying it had fired a "bullet at democracy". Tülay Tuğcu, head of the Constitutional Court, condemned Erdoğan for "threats, insults and hostility" towards the justice system.[14] The Turkish parliament agreed to reduce the age of candidacy for the parliament from 30 to 25 and abolished the death penalty in all instances, including war time. [edit] HealthOn April 2006, Erdoğan unveiled a social security reform package demanded by the International Monetary Fund under a loan deal. Erdoğan claimed that the move, which was passed with fierce opposition, was the one of the most radical reforms. Turkey’s three social security bodies were united under one roof, bringing equal health services and retirement benefits for members of all three bodies. Under the second bill, everyone below the age of 18 will be entitled to free health services, irrespective of whether they pay premiums to any social security organization or not. The bill also envisages a gradual increase in the retirement age. Starting from 2036, the retirement age will eventually increase to 65 as of 2048 for both men and women.[15] On January 2008, the Turkish Parliament adopted a law on a complete prohibition of smoking in the most of the public places. [edit] Foreign policy [edit] United StatesWhen Barack Obama became President of United States, he made his first overseas trip to Turkey. At a joint news conference in Turkey, Obama said: "I'm trying to make a statement about the importance of Turkey, not just to the United States but to the world. I think that where there's the most promise of building stronger U.S.-Turkish relations is in the recognition that Turkey and the United States can build a model partnership in which a predominantly Christian nation, a predominantly Muslim nation -- a Western nation and a nation that straddles two continents," he continued, "that we can create a modern international community that is respectful, that is secure, that is prosperous, that there are not tensions -- inevitable tensions between cultures -- which I think is extraordinarily important."[16] [edit] European UnionErdoğan was named by the European Voice Organization "The European Of The Year 2004" for the reforms in his country. Erdogan said in a comment that "Turkey's accession shows that Europe is a continent where civilisations reconcile and not clash." [17] On 3 October 2005, the negotiations for Turkey's accession to the EU formally started during Erdoğan's tenure as Prime Minister.[18] [edit] Greece and CyprusDuring Erdoğan's Prime Ministership, the relations with Greece have been normalized. The political and economic relations are strongly improved. In 2007, Prime Minister Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis met on the bridge over the Evros River at the border between Greece and Turkey, for the inauguration of the Greek-Turkish natural gas pipeline, linking the longtime Aegean rivals through a project that will give Caspian gas its first direct Western outlet and help ease Russia’s energy dominance. Turkey and Greece signed agreement to create a Combined Joint Operational Unit within the framework of NATO to participate in Peace Support Operations.[19] Erdogan and his party strongly supported the EU backed referendum of Cyprus, 2004 to reunify the island.[20] [edit] Reconciliation with ArmeniaDuring Erdoğan's Prime Ministership, Abdullah Gül became the first Turkish head of state to visit Armenia, when he made the trip to Yerevan to watch a FIFA World Cup qualifying match between the countries.[21] Erdoğan also met numerous times with the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, the latest such meeting taking place during the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2009.[22] Since 2005 international airspace between Armenia and Turkey has been reopened. On August 31, 2009, Turkey and Armenia signed protocols in Zurich to improve relations between the two countries.[23] [edit] IraqOn March 23, 2009, Abdullah Gul became the first Turkish head of state to visit Iraq in 33 years. Under Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Prime Ministry, Iraq and Turkey signed 48 trade agreements by the Iraqi-Turkish Strategic Council in Baghdad. Agreements signed included sectors of security, energy, oil, electricity, water, health, trade, environment, transport, housing, construction, agriculture, education, higher education, and defense. Turkish government also warmed up relations with Northern Iraq by opening a Turkish university in Arbil, and a Turkish consulate in Mosul.[24] [edit] SyriaDuring Erdoğan's term of office, the diplomatic relations between Turkey and Syria have significantly improved. In 2004, President Bashar al-Assad arrived in Turkey for the first official visit by a Syrian President in 57 years. In late 2004 Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan signed a free trade agreement with Syria. The visa restrictions between the two countries have been lifted in 2009, which caused an economic boom in the regions near the Syrian border.[25] In 2008, Turkey was a mediator for peace talks between Israel and Syria. Turkey suspended its role as mediator after the Gaza War of 2009.  [edit] Davos AffairOn 29 January 2009, Erdoğan attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, the debate became heated in relation to the Gaza conflict. The Israeli President Shimon Peres was heavily criticized by Erdogan (sitting beside him) over the handling of the conflict as response to Peres' strong language. Erdoğan accused the moderator that Peres had even longer time than all the other panelists combined.[27][28] The moderator, David Ignatius told Erdoğan that there was not enough time to "start the debate again" when he requested extra time beyond that which he had previously been allotted, because they had to go to "dinner", so Erdogan walked out of the panel and vowed never to come to Davos forums again.[29] [edit] Elections[edit] Presidential elections 2007See also: Turkish constitutional referendum, 2007 On April 14, 2007, an estimated 300,000 people marched in Ankara to protest the possible candidacy of Erdoğan in the 2007 presidential election, afraid that if elected as President, he would alter the secular nature of the Turkish state.[30] Erdoğan announced on April 24, 2007 that the party had decided to nominate Abdullah Gül as the AKP candidate in the presidential election.[31][32] The protests continued over the next several weeks, with over one million reported at an April 29 rally in Istanbul,[33][34] tens of thousands reported at separate protests on May 4 in Manisa and Çanakkale,[35][36][37] and anywhere from one to two million in İzmir on May 13.[38][39][40] Early parliamentary elections were called after the failure of the parties in parliament to agree on the next Turkish president. At the same time, Erdoğan claimed the failure to elect a president was a failure of the Turkish political system and proposed to modify the constitution. Abdullah Gül was later elected President after the general elections on 22 July 2007 that saw AKP and Erdoğan brought back to power with 46.7 percent of the vote. Later in 2007, Turkish constitutional referendum approved to modify the constitution to allow the people to elect the President. [edit] General elections 2007See also: Turkish general election, 2007 The stage of the elections was set for a fight for legitimacy in the eyes of voters between his government and the country’s kemalist opposition. Erdoğan used the events at that took place during the ill-fated Presidential elections a few months earlier as a part of the general election campaign of his party. In the night of 22 July 2007, it became obvious that AKP had won an important victory over the opposition, garnering 46.7 percent of the popular vote. July 22 elections were only the second time in the Turkish Republic's history whereby an incumbent governing party won an election by increasing its share of popular support. On 14 March 2008, Turkey's Chief Prosecutor asked the country's Constitutional Court to ban Erdogan's governing party.[41] The party later escaped a ban on 30 July 2008, a year after winning 46.7 percent of the vote in national elections, only receiving a removal of 50% share of their public granted funds.[42]. [edit] Local Elections 2009See also: Turkish local elections, 2009 Turkey held local elections on 29 March 2009. The overall winner was Erdogan's ruling center-right AK Party, with 39% of eligible votes. [edit] Honors and accolades[edit] Awards
[edit] Honorary doctorates
[edit] Honorary citizenship
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Categories: Prime Ministers of Turkey | Current national leaders | Mayors of Istanbul | Leaders of political parties in Turkey | Turkish Muslim politicians | Democratically elected Turkish leaders | People from Istanbul | 1954 births | Living people | Turkish Sunni Muslims | Georgian Muslims | Turkish people of Georgian descent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ↑ top of page ↑ | about thumbshots |
