Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
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Recep Tayyip Erdoğan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Erdoğan in 2024 | |
| 12th President of Turkey | |
| Assumed office 28 August 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Vice President |
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| Preceded by | Abdullah Gül |
| 25th Prime Minister of Turkey | |
| In office 14 March 2003 – 28 August 2014 | |
| President |
|
| Deputy | |
| Preceded by | Abdullah Gül |
| Succeeded by | Ahmet Davutoğlu |
| Leader of the Justice and Development Party | |
| Assumed office 21 May 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Binali Yıldırım |
| In office 14 August 2001 – 27 August 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Ahmet Davutoğlu |
| Member of the Grand National Assembly | |
| In office 9 March 2003 – 28 August 2014 | |
| Constituency | |
| Mayor of Istanbul | |
| In office 27 March 1994 – 6 November 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Nurettin Sözen |
| Succeeded by | Ali Müfit Gürtuna |
| Chairman of the Organization of Turkic States | |
| In office 12 November 2021 – 11 November 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Ilham Aliyev |
| Succeeded by | Shavkat Mirziyoyev |
| In office 28 August 2014 – 11 September 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Abdullah Gül |
| Succeeded by | Nursultan Nazarbayev |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 February 1954 Istanbul, Turkey |
| Party | Justice and Development (2001–2014; 2017–present) |
Other political affiliations |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | |
| Relatives | (sons-in-law) |
| Education | Marmara University (BBA)[a] |
Awards | Full list |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Government website |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Turkey |
| Branch/service | Turkish Army |
Years of service | 1982–1983 |
| Rank | Sub-lieutenant |
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Personal 25th Prime Minister of Turkey 12th President of Turkey |
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Recep Tayyip Erdoğan[b] (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who has been the president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which he co-founded in 2001. He also served as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. Coming from an Islamist background and promoting socially conservative policies, Erdoğan has been Turkey's de facto leader since 2003. Turkey has experienced democratic backsliding and suppression of dissent under Erdoğan.[5]
Erdoğan was born in Beyoğlu, Istanbul, and studied at the Aksaray Academy of Economic and Commercial Sciences, before working as a consultant and senior manager in the private sector. Becoming active in local politics, he was elected Welfare Party's Beyoğlu district chair in 1984 and Istanbul chair in 1985. Following the 1994 local elections, Erdoğan was elected mayor of Istanbul. In 1998 he was convicted for inciting religious hatred and banned from politics after reciting a poem by Ziya Gökalp that compared mosques to barracks and the faithful to an army. Erdoğan was released from prison in 1999 and formed the AKP, abandoning openly Islamist policies.
Erdoğan led the AKP to a landslide victory in the election for the Grand National Assembly in 2002, and became prime minister after winning a by-election in Siirt in 2003. Erdoğan led the AKP to two more election victories in 2007 and 2011. His tenure consisted of economic recovery from the economic crisis of 2001, the start of EU membership negotiations, and the reduction of military influence on politics. In late 2012, his government began peace negotiations with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to end the Kurdish–Turkish conflict, negotiations which ended three years later.
In 2014, Erdoğan became the country's first directly elected president. Erdoğan's presidency has been marked by democratic backsliding and a shift towards authoritarianism. His economic policies have led to high inflation and the depreciation of the Turkish lira. He has intervened in conflicts in