Abdullah Gül

Abdullah Gül
Saeima · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Name	Abdullah Gül
Caption	Official portrait
Birth date	29 October 1950
Birth place	Kayseri, Turkey
Occupation	Politician, economist, academic
Party	Justice and Development Party (AKP) (co-founder)
Office	11th President of Turkey
Term start	28 August 2007
Term end	28 August 2014
Predecessor	Ahmet Necdet Sezer
Successor	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Abdullah Gül is a Turkish politician, statesman, and economist who served as the 11th President of Turkey from 2007 to 2014. He co-founded the Justice and Development Party and held senior roles including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the 2000s. Gül's presidency oversaw significant domestic reforms and intensive diplomatic engagement with regional and global leaders.

Early life and education

Born in Kayseri in 1950 to a merchant family from Kayseri, he completed primary and secondary schooling in local institutions before attending Istanbul University's Faculty of Economics. Gül later pursued postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom at University of Exeter, where he studied economics and developed contacts with academics from Chatham House-affiliated circles. During his early career he served as an academic and researcher at Bursa Osmangazi University and worked in the private sector with ties to business groups active in Ankara and Istanbul.

Political career

Gül entered electoral politics in the 1990s amid a landscape shaped by parties such as the Motherland Party, Welfare Party, and True Path Party. He was elected to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and served in cabinets led by figures including Necmettin Erbakan and Mesut Yılmaz. After the 2001 political realignment he co-founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP) with figures such as Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Bülent Arınç. Gül held portfolios as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister in administrations influenced by post-2001 economic reforms undertaken under Kemal Derviş-era stabilization programs and European Union enlargement negotiations.

His tenure in the foreign ministry involved high-profile diplomacy with counterparts from the European Union, United States, Russia, Iran, Israel, and Iraq; he participated in trilateral talks with leaders from Greece and Cyprus and engaged with institutions such as the United Nations and NATO. Domestically, Gül navigated judicial and constitutional controversies involving the Constitutional Court of Turkey and interlocutors from the Turkish Armed Forces during periods of political tension, while the AKP pursued legislative changes affecting EU accession criteria and human rights frameworks.

Presidency (2007–2014)

Elected President by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in 2007, Gül assumed office succeeding Ahmet Necdet Sezer and presided during a transformative era that included the global 2008 financial crisis, regional upheaval during the Arab Spring, and shifts in relations with the European Union and United States. He worked alongside Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and engaged with leaders such as Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, Hassan Rouhani, and David Cameron on bilateral and multilateral issues. His presidency endorsed constitutional and legal initiatives debated in the Turkish Parliament including reforms tied to European Court of Human Rights rulings and EU conditionality.

Gül took part in symbolic reconciliations and diplomatic openings, visiting capitals including Washington, D.C., Moscow, Tehran, and Brussels and attending summits such as G20 meetings. He faced domestic criticism over executive influence and the balance between the presidency and the Turkish Parliament, particularly as debates intensified over presidential powers and the role of the office in Turkey's political system. Internationally, his tenure was marked by mediation efforts and statements on humanitarian crises in neighboring Syria and discussions on energy routes involving Azerbaijan and Iraq.

Post-presidential activities

After leaving office in 2014, succeeded by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Gül remained an influential figure within Turkish politics and international networks, giving lectures at institutions such as Harvard University and participating in forums with representatives from European Commission, United Nations Development Programme, and transatlantic think tanks. He engaged with former statesmen from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in dialogues about democratization and regional security. Gül occasionally commented on domestic politics, aligning and clashing with AKP colleagues and opposition leaders including figures from the Republican People's Party and the Nationalist Movement Party in public debates about constitutional amendments and elections.

Gül's post-presidential years included involvement with civil society initiatives and meetings with delegations from Arab League states, Gulf Cooperation Council, and NATO partners; he also received invitations to academic symposia on Middle East policy, EU relations, and interfaith dialogue. He maintained a low-key international profile while acting as a mediator in select bilateral discussions.

Personal life and beliefs

Gül is married to Hayrünnisa Gül; the couple has three children and has been associated with Ankara social circles and cultural institutions such as Istanbul Modern and the Atatürk Cultural Center. Raised in a conservative Muslim family, his outlook blends references to Islamic values with engagement with secular institutions exemplified by interactions with the Constitutional Court of Turkey and European interlocutors. He has authored and contributed to essays on foreign policy, development, and Turkey's role between Europe and Asia and has been the recipient of honors from states including Azerbaijan and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Gül's public image reflects contacts with religious figures, business leaders from Istanbul-based conglomerates, jurists from the Council of Europe, and diplomats from missions in Ankara. His beliefs emphasize pragmatic diplomacy, conservatism in social matters, and advocacy for Turkey's integration into multilateral frameworks such as the European Union and NATO.

Category:Presidents of Turkey Category:1950 births Category:Living people