Abdullah Gül
| Abdullah Gül | |
| 11th President of Turkey | |
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| Prime Minister | |
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| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | Ahmet Münir, Kübra, Mehmet Emre |
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Abdullah Gül ([abduɫˈɫah ˈɟyl]; born October 29, 1950) is the 11th and current President of the Republic of Turkey, serving in that office since 28 August 2007. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2007.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's nomination of Gül as a presidential candidate drew strong and highly vocal opposition from ardent supporters of laicism in Turkey. In May 2007, Gül's first bid for presidency was blocked by the Constitutional Court,[1] in a climate of secularist concern regarding views Gül had expressed during his Welfare Party years, and the fact that his wife, Mrs. Hayrünnisa Gül, wears a headscarf.[2] However, following theparliamentary elections in July the same year, which were won by the Justice and Development Party with 46.6% of the popular vote, he was eventually elected President on August 28, 2007 and was sworn in the same day, becoming the first devout Muslim President in the modern history of Turkey.[3][4]
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[edit]Early life
President Gül was born in Kayseri, a city in central Anatolia. His father is Ahmed Hamdi Gül, a retired air force mechanic, and his mother is Adviye Gül (née Satoğlu). His family has lived in the Güllük district of Kayseri for about a century.[5][6] His ancestry/ethnicity according to aÇankaya Presidential Residence statement is "Turkish Muslim." Gül was also called with the name Cumhur (which means 'people') by his family.[7]
[edit]Education
Gül studied Economics at the Istanbul University. During his graduate education, he studied for two years in London and Exeter in the United Kingdom. He pursued an academic career after that and worked at the higher education facilities in Adapazarı, collaborating in the establishment of the Department for Industrial Engineering and teaching Management courses at the ITU Sakarya Engineering Faculty, which later became the Sakarya University in 1992. He received a Ph.D. degree from the Istanbul University in 1983. He is also conferred to an Honorary Ph.D degree from AMITY University, NOIDA -India on February 8, 2009, and Doctor of Law degree from University of Dhaka on February 13, 2010.[8] Between 1983 and 1991, he worked at the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In 1991, Gül became a lecturer in International Management.
[edit]Entry into politics
Gül became acquainted with right-wing politics early during his high school years. During his university education, he became a member of the Islamist-nationalist Millî Türk Talebe Birliği(National Turkish Students' Union) in the line of Necip Fazıl's Büyük Doğu (Grand Orient) current.[9]
He was elected a member of the Turkish parliament for the Refah Partisi (RP, "the Welfare Party") from Kayseri Province in 1991 and 1995. During these years, he made statements about the political system of Turkey that was designed by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and theTurkish National Movement, which included "This is the end of the republican period" and "The secular system has failed and we definitely want to change it”.[10] These statements caused controversy when his candidacy for the 2007 presidential election was announced by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan.[11]
Abdullah Gül and Dmitri Medvedev.
In 1999, he kept his seat as a member of the Fazilet Partisi (FP, "the Virtue Party") which was subsequently outlawed by the Constitutional Court for its violation of the Constitution. Its predecessor, the Refah Partisi, was also outlawed by the Constitutional Court for its violation of the Constitution, especially the principle of secularism.
By this time, Gül had moderated his views somewhat, and was now reckoned as a member of the Virtue Party's reformist faction. As such, he was among the founders of the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party), a party which billed itself as a moderate conservative party in the European tradition. He was elected once again to represent Kayseri in 2002.
[edit]AK Parti career
[edit]Prime Minister
After the Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) won the most votes in the November 2002 general election, Gül was appointed Prime Minister, as AK Party leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was unable to assume the role due to a ban on his participation in politics. After Gül's government secured legislation allowing Erdoğan's return to politics, the latter took over as prime minister on 14 March 2003. Gül was appointed deputy prime minister and foreign minister.
[edit]Foreign minister
After becoming foreign minister in March 2003, Gül became the key player in Turkey's attempts to receive an accession date for theEuropean Union and in its attempts to improve relations with Syria and maintaining its relationship with the Turkic-speaking countries ofCentral Asia and the Caucasus. On February 6, 2007, Gül flew to the United States to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
[edit]Presidential candidacy
Prime Minister Erdoğan announced on 24 April 2007 that Gül would be the Justice and Development Party candidate in the 2007 presidential election. Previously, there had been speculation that Erdoğan himself would be the party's candidate, which had provoked substantial opposition from secularists.[12][13] When a boycott of opposition parties in Parliament deadlocked the election process, Gül formally withdrew his candidacy on 6 May 2007. If elected he would be the first president to have been involved with Islamist parties.
But a few days later, on 11 May 2007 when he inquired after the alterations to the Turkish constitution which now allowed the people to elect the president directly rather than a parliamentary vote, Gül announced that he was still intending to run.[14][15]
Following the July 2007 parliamentary election, the AK Party renominated Gül as its presidential candidate on August 13; the election was again held as a vote of parliament.[16] On August 14, Gül submitted his candidacy application to parliament and expressed his commitment to secularism at a news conference.[17]
On 28 August 2007, he was elected president in the third round of voting; in the first two rounds, a two-thirds majority of MPs had been required, but in the third round he needed only a simple majority. Gül was sworn in immediately thereafter.[18] The process was a very low-key affair.[19] Gül's swearing-in was not attended by the Chief of the Turkish General Staff and was boycotted by the opposition Republican People's Party; then the hand-over of power at the presidential palace was held behind closed doors. Gül's wife Hayrünnisa, whose wearing of a headscarf is a factor in the opposition to Gül's presidency, was not present. This approach continued; the traditional evening reception hosted by the new president at the presidential palace for the country's highest authorities was announced for 11:30 in the morning and wives were not invited.[20] His presidency has been described as a "new era in Turkish politics", for being the first devout Muslim president of Turkey.[21]
Gül received messages of congratulation from the US, EU and German authorities while Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdoğan made a statement saying "a structure doomed to uncertainty has been overcome" (an oblique reference to the deep state theory that Turkey is ruled behind-closed-doors by a secret conspiracy of soldiers and bureaucrats).[22]
In September 2008 he became the first Turkish leader to visit neighbouring Armenia, sparking a major debate in Turkey.[23]
[edit]Personal life
On August 20, 1980, Abdullah Gül married Hayrünnisa Özyurt (b. 1965), his first cousin, who also originates from Kayseri.[24][25] He was therefore thirty years old, to his wife's fifteen, at the time of their marriage. The couple has three children: two sons named Mehmet Emre and Ahmet Münir, and a daughter named Kübra.
He is a fan of the football club Beşiktaş J.K. of Istanbul.[26]
[edit]Full Style
1950-1983 Abdullah Gül
1983-1991 Dr. Abdullah Gül
1991-1996 Associate Professor Doctor Abdullah Gül, MP
1996-2002 Associate Professor Doctor Abdullah Gül, Minister of State of the Republic of Turkey
2002-2003 His Excellency Associate Professor Doctor Abdullah Gül, 58th Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey
2003-2007 His Excellency Associate Professor Doctor Abdullah Gül, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey
2007-Current His Excellency Associate Professor Doctor Abdullah Gül, 11th President of the Republic of Turkey.[27]
Albeit, His Excellency is entitled to the use of several foreign honorifics and post-nominals such as for example "GCB", (because he has been made an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Civil Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath by Queen Elizabeth II of theUnited Kingdom) Çankaya Presidential Palace protocol dictates that foreign honours and titles be omitted when addressing His Excellency.
[edit]Decorations and awards
§ United Kingdom - Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Civil Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (May 14, 2008)
§ Saudi Arabia - Order of King Abdulaziz (2007)
§ Portugal - Grand Collar Order of Prince Henry (Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) (GColIH) (May 12, 2009)
§ Pakistan - Nishan-e-Pakistan[28]
§ Italy - National Decoration
§ Kuwait - National Decoration
§ Cameroon - National Decoration
§ Qatar - National Decoration
§ President Abdullah Gül has been voted the winner of the Chatham House Prize 2010 (March 19, 2010) [29]
[edit]See also
§ Çankaya Köşkü The Presidency of the Republic of Turkey
[edit]References
1. ^ Ercan Yavuz (31 July 2008) Evidence indicates Ergenekon tried to block presidential election Today's Zaman. Retrieved on 09 February 2009.
2. ^ "Gül'ün adaylığını doğru bulmuyoruz" (in Turkish). CNN Türk. Retrieved 2007-08-29.
3. ^ Turks elect ex-Islamist president BBC News (28 August 2007). Retrieved on 09 February 2009.
4. ^ Gul sworn in as Turkey's first former Islamist president Daily Mail (29 August 2007). Retrieved on 09 February 2009.
5. ^ Kurt, Süleyman. "'Cumhur' İkinci Kez Köşk Yolunda" (in Turkish). Zaman. Retrieved 2007-08-29.
6. ^ "'Ergenekon davasında mahkemeler görevini yapacak'" (in Turkish). Milliyet. 2008-07-27. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
7. ^ Doğum Günü 29 Ekim, Radikal, April 25, 2007 (Turkish)
8. ^ Star Online Report (2010-02-13). "Doctor of Laws degree conferred on Abdullah". Thedailystar.net. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
9. ^ "Abdullah Gul's Unknown Sides/Exclusive" (in Turkish). World Bulletin. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
10. ^ "Turkish Islamists aim for power". Guardian Weekly. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
11. ^ "Abdullah Gül: The Man Who Would be Turkey's President" (in Turkish). Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
12. ^ "Turkey's ruling party announces FM Gül as presidential candidate", Xinhua (People's Daily Online), April 24, 2007.
13. ^ " "Turkey 'must have secular leader'", BBC News, April 24, 2007.
14. ^ "Gül: Adaylığımız devam ediyor" (in Turkish). Hurriyet. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
15. ^ "Gül adaylıktan çekildi" (in Turkish). Hurriyet. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
16. ^ "Turkey's ruling party renominates Gül as presidential candidate", Xinhua (People's Daily Online), August 13, 2007.
17. ^ Turkey's Gul vows secular agenda, BBC News, August 14, 2007.
18. ^ "Turkish foreign minister wins presidency, in victory for Islamic-rooted government", Associated Press, International Herald Tribune, August 28, 2007.
19. ^ "Generals Protest Against Gül's Presidency". Turkish Daily News (Hürriyet). 2007-08-29.
20. ^ Koylu, Hilal (2007-09-01). "Köşk'e ilk davet eşsiz" (in Turkish).Radikal. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
21. ^ Amberin Zaman (29 Aug 2007). Turkey elects Islamist president Abdullah Gul Telegraph. Retrieved on 10 February 2009.
22. ^ "Türkiye'nin 11. Cumhurbaşkanı Abdullah Gül" (in Turkish).Radikal. 2007-08-29.
23. ^ "Gul in landmark visit to Armenia". BBC News. 2008-09-06. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
24. ^ Dündar, Can. "Bir Evlilik Yıldönümü" (in Turkish). Milliyet. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
25. ^ "Abdullah Gül". Retrieved 2009-08-18.
26. ^ Köşk'e üçüncü beşiktaşlı, Haber3, April 24, 2007. (Turkish)
27. ^ "T.C. CUMHURBAŞKANLIĞI : Abdullah Gül". Tccb.gov.tr. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
28. ^ "Turkish President awarded Nishan-i-Pakistan". Associated Press of Pakistan. March 31, 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
29. ^ "Chatham House Prize 2010". chathamhouse.org.uk. March 19, 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
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