Recep Tayyip Erdoğan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
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Erdoğan in 2022
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| 12th President of Turkey | |
| Assumed office 28 August 2014 |
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| 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 |
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| President |
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| Deputy |
See list
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| Preceded by | Abdullah Gül |
| Succeeded by | Ahmet Davutoğlu |
| Leader of the Justice and Development Party | |
| Assumed office 21 May 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Binali Yıldırım |
| In office 14 August 2001 – 27 August 2014 |
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Ahmet Davutoğlu |
| Member of the Grand National Assembly | |
| In office 9 March 2003 – 28 August 2014 |
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| Constituency |
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| 23rd Mayor of Istanbul | |
| In office 27 March 1994 – 6 November 1998 |
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| Preceded by | Nurettin Sözen |
| Succeeded by | Ali Müfit Gürtuna |
| Chairman of the Organization of Turkic States | |
| In office 12 November 2021 – 11 November 2022 |
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| Preceded by | Ilham Aliyev |
| Succeeded by | Shavkat Mirziyoyev |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 February 1954 Istanbul, Turkey |
| Political party | Justice and Development (2001–2014; 2017–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
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| Spouse | |
| Children |
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| Relatives |
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| Residences | Presidential Complex, Ankara |
| Alma mater | Marmara University |
| Signature |  |
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954), commonly referred by to his initials RTE, is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He also co-founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2001. On March 8, 2024, he declared that he would retire once his presidential term ended in 2028.
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Early life
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was born on 26 February 1954 in a poor conservative Muslim family. Erdoğan was born in Güneysu, Rize and later his family moved to Kasımpaşa, a poor neighborhood of Istanbul. His parents were Ahmet Erdoğan (1905–1988) and Tenzile Erdoğan (née Mutlu; 1924–2011).
To get extra pocket money, Erdoğan sold bottles of water to drivers stuck in traffic. Erdoğan also worked as a street vendor selling simit (sesame bread rings), wearing a white gown and selling the simit from a red three-wheel cart with the rolls stacked behind glass.
Education
Erdoğan graduated from Kasımpaşa Piyale primary school in 1965, and İmam Hatip school, a religious vocational high school, in 1973. One quarter of the curriculum of İmam Hatip schools involves study of the Quran, the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the Arabic language. Erdoğan studied the Quran at an İmam Hatip, where his classmates began calling him hoca (teacher).
Erdoğan wanted to pursue advanced studies at Mekteb-i Mülkiye, but Mülkiye accepted only students with regular high school diplomas, and not İmam Hatip graduates. Erdoğan was then admitted to Eyüp High School, a regular state school, and eventually received his high school diploma from Eyüp.
He subsequently studied Business Administration at the Aksaray School of Economics and Commercial Sciences (Turkish: Aksaray İktisat ve Ticaret Yüksekokulu), now known as Marmara University's Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, before working as a consultant and senior manager in the private sector.
Early political career
Erdoğan became active in parties led by veteran Islamist politician Necmettin Erbakan, starting as his party's Beyoğlu district chair in 1984 and Istanbul chair in 1985.
Following the 1994 local elections, Erdoğan was elected mayor of Istanbul, where he implemented a series of reforms that modernized the city's infrastructure and economy.
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.
Erdoğan co-founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2001. He led the AKP to a landslide victory in the election for the Grand National Assembly in 2002.
After his political ban was lifted by prime minister Abdullah Gül, Erdoğan 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. Reforms made in the early years of Erdoğan's tenure as prime minister granted Turkey the start of EU membership negotiations. Furthermore, Turkey experienced an economic recovery from the economic crisis of 2001 and saw investments in infrastructure including roads, airports, and a high-speed train network. He also won two successful constitutional referendums in 2007 and 2010. 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.
Presidency
In 2014, Erdoğan became the country's first directly elected president.
Erdoğan supported the 2017 referendum, changing Turkey's parliamentary system into a presidential system, introducing term limit for the head of government (two full five-year terms), and greatly expanding executive powers. This new system of government formally came into place after the 2018 general election, where Erdoğan became an executive president.
Criticism
Erdoğan's presidency has been marked by a shift towards a more authoritarian style of government and has faced allegations of human rights abuses, suppression of dissents and suppression of freedom of speech.
He has been criticized for his handling of several issues, including the 2013 Gezi Park protests, the 2016 failed coup attempt, his economic policies and the ongoing conflict in Syria, which is believed to have contributed to the bad results of the 2019 local elections, in which his party lost power in large cities to opposition parties for the first time in 15 years.
Especially starting from 2018, he has decreased the independence of the Central Bank and pursued a highly unorthodox monetary policy, leading to high inflation rates and the depreciation of the value of the Turkish lira.
Events
Coup d'état attempt
On 15 July 2016, a coup d'état was attempted by the military, with aims to remove Erdoğan from government. By the next day, Erdoğan's government managed to reassert effective control in the country. Reportedly, no government official was arrested or harmed, which, among other factors, raised the suspicion of a false flag event staged by the government itself.
2023 earthquake
On 6 February 2023, a catastrophic earthquake occurred during his administration in southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria, killing more than 50,000 people.
Personal life
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Erdoğan married Emine Erdoğan (née Gülbaran; b. 1955, Siirt) on 4 July 1978. They have two sons, Ahmet Burak (b. 1979) and Necmettin Bilal (b. 1981), and two daughters, Esra (b. 1983) and Sümeyye (b. 1985). His father, Ahmet Erdoğan, died in 1988 and his mother, Tenzile Erdoğan, died in 2011 at the age of 87.
Erdoğan has a brother, Mustafa (b. 1958), and a sister, Vesile (b. 1965). From his father's first marriage to Havuli Erdoğan (d. 1980), he had two half-brothers: Mehmet (1926–1988) and Hasan (1929–2006).
Interesting facts about Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
- As a teenager, Erdoğan's father provided him with a weekly allowance of 2.5 Turkish lira, less than a dollar. With it, Erdoğan bought postcards and resold them on the street.
- In his youth, Erdoğan played semi-professional football in Camialtispor FC, a local club. Fenerbahçe wanted him to transfer to the club but his father prevented it.
- Erdoğan is a member of the Community of İskenderpaşa, a Turkish Sufistic community of Naqshbandi tariqah.
- As a high school student, Erdoğan was distinguished by his oratorical skills. He had a keen interest in public speaking and excelling in front of an audience.
- Erdoğan won first place in a poetry-reading competition organized by the Community of Turkish Technical Painters
- The stadium of the local football club in the district where he grew up, Kasımpaşa S.K. is named after him.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan quotes
- "Every country needs a strong leader in order to progress."
- "Your targets can only be realized on the basis of dreams."
- "Strong families lead to strong nations."
Electoral history
| Year | Office | Type | Party | Main opponent | Party | Votes for Erdoğan or his party | Result | |||||
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| Total | % | P. | ±% | |||||||||
| 1984 | Member of Parliament | National | RP | Hüsnü Doğan | ANAP | 31,247 | 8.57 | 5th | N/A | Lost | ||
| 1989 | Mayor of Beyoğlu | Local | RP | Hüseyin Aslan | SHP | 21,706 | 22.83 | 2nd | +17.71 | Lost | ||
| 1991 | Member of Parliament | National | RP | Bahattin Yücel | ANAP | 70,555 | 20.01 | 5th | +12.69 | Lost | ||
| 1994 | Mayor of Istanbul | Local | RP | İlhan Kesici | ANAP | 973,704 | 25.19 | 1st | +14.74 | Won | ||
| 2002 | Member of Parliament | National | AK Party | Deniz Baykal | CHP | 10,808,229 | 34.28 | 1st | +34.28 | Won | ||
| 2004 | Party leader | Local | AK Party | Deniz Baykal | CHP | 13,448,587 | 41.67 | 1st | +41.67 | Won | ||
| 2007 | Member of Parliament | National | AK Party | Deniz Baykal | CHP | 16,327,291 | 46.58 | 1st | +12.30 | Won | ||
| 2009 | Party leader | Local | AK Party | Deniz Baykal | CHP | 15,353,553 | 38.39 | 1st | -3.28 | Won | ||
| 2011 | Member of Parliament | National | AK Party | Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu | CHP | 21,399,082 | 49.83 | 1st | +3.25 | Won | ||
| 2014 | Party leader | Local | AK Party | Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu | CHP | 17,802,976 | 42.87 | 1st | +4.48 | Won | ||
| 2014 | President | National | Ind. | Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu | Ind. | 21,000,143 | 51.79 | 1st | N/A | Won | ||
| 2018 | National | AK Party | Muharrem İnce | CHP | 26,330,823 | 52.59 | 1st | +0.80 | Won | |||
| 2019 | Party leader | Local | AK Party | Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu | CHP | 19,766,640 | 42.55 | 1st | -0.32 | Won | ||
| 2023 | President | National | AK Party | Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu | CHP | 27,725,131 | 52.16 | 1st | -0.43 | Won | ||
Honours and accolades
Foreign honours
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Russia: Medal "In Commemoration of the 1000th Anniversary of Kazan" (1 June 2006)
Pakistan: Nishan-e-Pakistan, the highest civilian award in Pakistan (26 October 2009)
Georgia: Recipient of the Order of Golden Fleece, awarded for his contribution to development of bilateral relations (17 May 2010)
Kosovo: Golden Medal of the Order of Independence (4 November 2010)
Kyrgyzstan: Recipient of the Danaker Order in Bishkek (2 February 2011)
Kazakhstan: Recipient of the Order of the Golden Eagle (11 October 2012)
Niger: Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (9 January 2013)
Azerbaijan: Recipient of the Heydar Aliyev Order (3 September 2014)
Afghanistan: Amir Amanullah Khan Award (18 October 2014)
Somalia: Recipient of the Order of the Somali Star, awarded for his contributions to Somalia (25 January 2015).
Albania: National Flag Decoration (13 May 2015)
Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (5 October 2015)
Ivory Coast: Grand Cordon of the National Order of the Ivory Coast (29 February 2016)
Guinea: Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit (3 March 2016)
Madagascar: Grand Cross of the National Order of Madagascar (25 January 2017)
Bahrain: Member Exceptional Class of the Order of Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (12 February 2017)
Kuwait: Collar of the Order of Mubarak the Great (21 March 2017)
Sudan: Collar of Honour of Sudan (24 December 2017)
Tunisia: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Republic (27 December 2017)
Senegal: Grand Cross of the National Order of the Lion (1 March 2018)
Mali: Grand Cordon of the National Order of Mali (2 March 2018)
Gagauzia: Recipient of the Order of Gagauz-Yeri in Comrat (17 October 2018)
Moldova: Recipient of the Order of the Republic (18 October 2018)
Paraguay: Recipient of the Order of State (2 December 2018)
Venezuela: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Liberator (3 December 2018)
Ukraine: Member 1st Degree of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (16 October 2020)
Turkmenistan: Recipient of the Order for Contribution to the Development of Cooperation (27 November 2021)
Malaysia: Recipient of the Order of the Crown of the Realm (16 August 2022)- Kazakhstan: Member 1st Class of the Order of Friendship (12 October 2022)
United Arab Emirates: Collar of the Order of Zayed (19 July 2023)
Supranational
Organization of Turkic States: Supreme Order of Turkic World (11 November 2022)
Other awards
- 29 January 2004: Profile of Courage Award from the American Jewish Congress, for promoting peace between cultures. Returned at the request of the A.J.C. in July 2014.
- 13 June 2004: Golden Plate award from the Academy of Achievement during the conference in Chicago.
- 3 October 2004: German Quadriga prize for improving relationships between different cultures.
- 2 September 2005: Mediterranean Award for Institutions (Italian: Premio Mediterraneo Istituzioni). This was awarded by the Fondazione Mediterraneo.
- 8 August 2006: Caspian Energy Integration Award from the Caspian Integration Business Club.
- 1 November 2006: Outstanding Service award from the Turkish humanitarian organization Red Crescent.
- 2 February 2007: Dialogue Between Cultures Award from the President of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev.
- 15 April 2007: Crystal Hermes Award from the German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the opening of the Hannover Industrial Fair.
- 11 July 2007: Agricola Medal, the highest award of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, in recognition of his contribution to agricultural and social development in Turkey.
- 11 May 2009: Avicenna award from the Avicenna Foundation in Frankfurt, Germany.
- 9 June 2009: Prix de la Fondation and guest of honour at the 20th Crans Montana Forum in Brussels, for democracy and freedom.
- 25 June 2009: Key to the City of Tirana on the occasion of his state visit to Albania.
- 29 December 2009: Award for Contribution to World Peace from the Turgut Özal Thought and Move Association.
- 12 January 2010: King Faisal International Prize for "service to Islam" from the King Faisal Foundation.
- 23 February 2010: Nodo Culture Award from the mayor of Seville for his efforts to launch the Alliance of Civilizations initiative.
- 1 March 2010: United Nations–HABITAT award in memorial of Rafik Hariri. A seven-member international jury unanimously found Erdoğan deserving of the award because of his "excellent achievement and commendable conduct in the area of leadership, statesmanship and good governance. Erdoğan also initiated the first roundtable of mayors during the Istanbul conference, which led to a global, organized movement of mayors."
- 27 May 2010: Medal of honour from the Brazilian Federation of Industry for the State of São Paulo (FIESP) for his contributions to industry
- 31 May 2010: World Health Organization 2010 World No Tobacco Award for "his dedicated leadership on tobacco control in Turkey."
- 29 June 2010: 2010 World Family Award from the World Family Organization which operates under the umbrella of the United Nations.
- 4 November 2010: Golden Medal of Independence, an award conferred upon Kosovo citizens and foreigners that have contributed to the independence of Kosovo.
- 25 November 2010: "Leader of the Year" award presented by the Union of Arab Banks in Lebanon.
- 11 January 2011: "Outstanding Personality in the Islamic World Award" of the Sheikh Fahad al-Ahmad International Award for Charity in Kuwait.
- 25 October 2011: Palestinian International Award for Excellence and Creativity (PIA) 2011 for his support to the Palestinian people and cause.
- 21 January 2012: 'Gold Statue 2012 Special Award' by the Polish Business Center Club (BCC). Erdoğan was awarded for his systematic effort to clear barriers on the way to economic growth, striving to build democracy and free market relations.
Images for kids
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Party leader Erdoğan's meeting with Romano Prodi (President of the European Commission) and Günter Verheugen (European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement) in Brussels, Belgium, 2002
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Prime Minister Erdoğan during a press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, at the Office of the Prime Minister (Başbakanlık), in 2014
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Public debt of the six major European countries between 2002 and 2009 as a percentage of GDP
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The 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world, was officially opened by Erdoğan in 2022.
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The new Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) building in Ankara was opened in 2021.
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Erdoğan during an official visit to Peru, with a member of the Turkish army behind him
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Countries visited by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as prime minister
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Erdoğan with President in office of the EU Council and Dutch Prime Minister Balkenende and Turkish FM Gül in Brussels, Belgium (2004).
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Erdoğan with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou
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High-Level Russian-Turkish Cooperation Council with Prime Minister Erdoğan and President Putin
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Erdoğan and Barack Obama in White House, 7 December 2009
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Erdoğan walks out of the session at the World Economic Forum in 2009, vows never to return.
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Angela Merkel, Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Emmanuel Macron giving a press conference as part of Syria summit in Istanbul, Turkey
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Ballot paper for the 2018 presidential election
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Turkish journalists protesting imprisonment of their colleagues on Human Rights Day, 10 December 2016
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Turkish journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül were arrested for leaking classified information about Turkish support to Islamist fighters in Syria
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Foreign trips made by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as President (since 2014)
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Working dinner between the leaders of Turkey, Germany, France and Russia in Istanbul
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Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on 16 September 2022
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Erdoğan and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on 12 July 2023
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Meeting between leaders of Turkey, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Serbia in Istanbul, 10 July 2017
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Erdoğan with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (middle) and Bosnian Presidency Chairman Bakir Izetbegović, 12 July 2018
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Erdoğan during a state visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Turkey (2022)
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Erdoğan meeting U.S. President Barack Obama during the 2014 Wales summit in Newport, Wales
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Erdoğan, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit on 16 September 2022
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Erdoğan meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (2018)
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Erdoğan in a meeting with US President Joe Biden, Turkish Foreign Minister Çavusoğlu and US Secretary of State Blinken, October 2021
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Signing of the grain export deal between Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and the UN in Istanbul, 2022
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Erdoğan meeting Palestinian president Abbas in Erdoğan's Presidential Palace
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Erdoğan's supporters outside the White House in Washington, D.C., 16 May 2017
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An NTV news van covered in anti-AKP protest graffiti in response to their initial lack of coverage of the Gezi Park protests in 2013
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Opposition politicians Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ had been arrested on terrorism charges.
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See also
In Spanish: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan para niños
- List of international prime ministerial trips made by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
- List of international presidential trips made by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
