Early life and career of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

File:Erdogan at 19 (colored).jpg

Erdogan at 19 (colored)

Early life and career of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was born on February 26, 1954, in the Kasımpaşa neighborhood of Istanbul, Turkey. His family was originally from Rize Province on the Black Sea coast of Turkey. Erdoğan spent part of his childhood in Rize, where his father worked as a Coast Guard officer, before returning to Istanbul at the age of 13.

Education

Erdoğan attended the Kasımpaşa Piyale Primary School and later enrolled in the İmam Hatip School in Istanbul, a type of religious vocational high school. He graduated from İmam Hatip in 1973 and subsequently attended the Eyüp High School to obtain a regular high school diploma, as İmam Hatip graduates were not initially eligible for university entrance.

He then went on to study at the Marmara University's Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, from which he graduated in 1981. During his university years, Erdoğan was actively involved in student politics and became a member of the National Turkish Student Union.

Early Political Career

Erdoğan's political career began in the late 1970s when he joined the National Salvation Party (MSP), led by Necmettin Erbakan. Following the military coup in 1980, the MSP was banned, and Erdoğan briefly withdrew from active politics.

In 1983, Erdoğan joined the newly formed Welfare Party (RP), also led by Erbakan. He quickly rose through the ranks and became the head of the party's Istanbul branch in 1985. Under his leadership, the Welfare Party achieved significant success in local elections.

Mayor of Istanbul

In the 1994 local elections, Erdoğan was elected as the Mayor of Istanbul. His tenure as mayor was marked by significant infrastructure projects, including improvements to the city's water supply, waste management, and public transportation systems. He also focused on reducing the city's debt and improving municipal services.

However, his tenure was not without controversy. In 1998, Erdoğan was convicted for inciting religious hatred after reciting a poem during a public speech. As a result, he was sentenced to ten months in prison, of which he served four months, and was subsequently banned from political office.

Formation of the AK Party

Following his release from prison, Erdoğan co-founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2001. The party positioned itself as a moderate, conservative political force, distinct from the traditional Islamist parties. Under Erdoğan's leadership, the AKP won a landslide victory in the 2002 general elections, and Erdoğan became the Prime Minister of Turkey in 2003 after the legal ban on his political activities was lifted.

Related Pages

• Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
• Justice and Development Party
• Mayor of Istanbul
• National Salvation Party
• Welfare Party
• Marmara University
• Necmettin Erbakan