Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (b. 1954)

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Biography

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan 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, Turkey has experienced increasing authoritarianism, democratic backsliding and suppression of dissent under Erdoğan's rule.

In Their Own Words (5)

There was a young fellow from Ankara Who was a terrific wankerer Till he sowed his wild oats With the help of a goat But he didn’t even stop to thankera.

Boris Johnson wins The Spectator’s President Erdogan Offensive Poetry competition, 18 May 2016. , 2016

Erdogan once said that democracy for him is a bus ride. “Once I get to my stop, I’m getting off."

King Abdullah II of Jordan , 2013

We do not view Finland and Sweden's NATO membership positively.

"Erdogan says Turkey not supportive of Finland, Sweden joining NATO" Reuters (May 13, 2022) , 2022

...it's not possible for a Muslim to commit genocide

November 2009 "Sudanese President Bashir's visit to Turkey in limbo", Hurriyet Daily News (November 8, 2009) , 2009

Unfortunately, it is not enough to be right in the current world order; you need to be mighty as well. The criticism Erdoğan has been directing to the existing world order for years by stating that the world is bigger than five has actualized. Erdoğan has thus revealed de facto that justice cannot be expected from the current world order. You do not demand rights from this world order, you take it.

Yasin Aktay Baku sends 'loud and clear' message to whole world after Karabakh war (13 December 2020) , 2020

Timeline

The story of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, told in moments.

1994 Event

Elected mayor of Istanbul as the Welfare Party candidate. Improved the city's water supply, reduced pollution, and managed its debt. In 1998, he was convicted for reciting a poem that compared mosques to barracks. Served four months in prison.

Was going to prison for reciting a poem a turning point? Did improving Istanbul as mayor feel like your true calling? What poem was worth four months in prison?

2002 Event

His Justice and Development Party won a landslide in parliamentary elections. Became prime minister in 2003 after winning a by-election in Siirt. Began EU membership negotiations and reduced military influence in politics. The economy recovered from its 2001 crisis.

Did you build the AKP to win one election or reshape Turkey? Was reducing military influence your most dangerous move? Did EU negotiations change how you saw Turkey's future?

2014 Event

Became Turkey's first directly elected president. Pushed through a 2017 constitutional referendum that transformed the country from a parliamentary to a presidential system, expanding executive powers. Won re-election in 2018 under the new system.

Was the shift from parliamentary to presidential system about Turkey or about you? Do you see yourself as a democrat or a strongman? What does two decades in power do to a person?

2022 Life

Brokered a grain export deal between Russia and Ukraine and mediated a prisoner exchange. Blocked Finland and Sweden from joining NATO before eventually agreeing. Closed the Bosphorus to Russian naval reinforcements. In power for over two decades, longer than any Turkish leader since Ataturk.

Was brokering the grain deal between Russia and Ukraine your proudest diplomatic moment? Why block Finland and Sweden from NATO before agreeing? Do you compare yourself to Ataturk?