Tag: Council of Ministers

  • Erdogan Bayraktar appointed as Environment, Urbanization Minister

    Erdogan Bayraktar appointed as Environment, Urbanization Minister

    toki

    Bayraktar completed Construction Engineering Department of Istanbul State Architecture & Engineering Academy.

    Erdogan Bayraktar has been appointed as the head of newly created Environment & Urbanization Ministry.

    Born in the northern province of Trabzon in 1948, Bayraktar completed Construction Engineering Department of Istanbul State Architecture & Engineering Academy, and earned a masters degree in Construction Engineering in Istanbul University.

    He had been an assembly member in Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and Eminonu Municipality for ten years, and then worked for KIPTAS (Istanbul Housing and Public Works Planning Industry Corp.) for 4.5 years, and became the president of TOKI (Housing Development Administration of Turkey) for eight years.

    Bayraktar is married with five children and speaks English.

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  • Binali Yildirim to continue serving as Turkey’s Transportation Minister

    Binali Yildirim to continue serving as Turkey’s Transportation Minister

    He worked as research assistant at Shipbuilding and Marine Sciences Faculty of Istanbul Technical University, and as an engineer at Camialti shipyard.

    Binali Yildirim, who was elected a lawmaker from Izmir province in June 12 elections, will continue serving as Transportation Minister in the 61st Council of Ministers announced Wednesday by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    binali yildirim

    Yildirim was born in Erzincan in 1955. He graduated from Shipbuilding and Marine Sciences Faculty of Istanbul Technical University. He obtained a master’s degree from the same school. He also studied at World Maritime University.

    He worked as research assistant at Shipbuilding and Marine Sciences Faculty of Istanbul Technical University, and as an engineer at Camialti shipyard. He served as director-general of fast ferry firm Istanbul Deniz Otobusleri (IDO).

    He is a founding member of Justice & Development (AK) Party. He was elected a board member of World Maritime University.

    In 2002 and 2007 elections, he was elected lawmaker from his hometown Erzincan. He was the Transportation Minister in 58th, 59th and 60th governments.

    He speaks English and French. He is married with 3 children.

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  • Veysel Eroglu appointed as Forestry, Water Works Minister

    Veysel Eroglu appointed as Forestry, Water Works Minister

    Veysel Eroglu appointed as Forestry, Water Works Minister

    veysel eroglu

    Eroglu completed Afyonkarahisar High School in 1966, entering the Civil Engineering program of Istanbul Technical University in 1967.

    Veysel Eroglu has been appointed as the head of newly established Forestry & Water Works Ministry.

    Born in 1948 in the western province of Afyonkarahisar, Eroglu completed Afyonkarahisar High School in 1966, entering the Civil Engineering program of Istanbul Technical University in 1967. He graduated in 1971 with a degree in civil engineering.

    Between 1976 and 1977, Eroglu was an assistant lecturer in the Hydraulics Department of the Engineering Faculty of Yildiz Technical University.

    He completed his doctorate thesis in 1980, and from 1980 to 1981 continued as an assistant lecturer in the Department of Environmental Engineering Department of Istanbul Technical University.

    He carried out postgraduate studies and research at the International Institute for Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering in Delft (the Netherlands) in the 1981-1982 academic year.

    After his return to Turkey he became an associate professor in 1984, lecturing in the Environmental Engineering Department. In 1991, Eroglu was awarded the title of full professor and became head of the Department of Environmental Engineering.

    In 1994, he was appointed General Director of the Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (ISKI). He computerised the potable water distribution and waste water systems in Istanbul (SCADA).

    In 2003, Eroglu was appointed Director General of State Hydraulic Works (DSI).

    He was elected to the parliament in 2007, becoming minister of environment and forestry, where, as part of his duties, he is responsible for Turkey’s strategy and approach to global warming.

    Eroglu is the author of more than 250 academic works, including scientific and technical reports, books and conference papers.

    He is married with 4 children. He speaks English.

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  • Egemen Bagis appointed as Turkey’s first EU minister

    Egemen Bagis appointed as Turkey’s first EU minister

    he served as the founding Chairman of the Advisory Board for “Istanbul 2010 Project”, under which, Istanbul was chosen as a European Capital of Culture for the year 2010.

    egemen bagis

    Egemen Bagis, former State Minister and Chief Negotiator for EU talks, has been appointed as the head of newly created EU Ministry in Turkey’s 61st government.

    According to information on his personal internet site, Egemen Bagis was first elected to Parliament in 2002 as a deputy of Istanbul. He was appointed as Minister for EU Affairs on January 2009 and has been working for full membership negotiations of Turkey since then.

    Bagis was the party’s Vice Chairman in charge of Foreign Affairs and as a Vice Chairman, he had been a member of AK Party’s Central Executive Committee, the party’s highest body until 2009.

    Bagis was the party’s contact person for international relations and diplomacy. He directed and coordinated the party’s national and international network and local branches on foreign policy matters. He also coordinated the flow of key global developments to the party leadership.

    As a patron of arts, he served as the founding Chairman of the Advisory Board for “Istanbul 2010 Project”, under which, Istanbul was chosen as a European Capital of Culture for the year 2010.

    Egemen Bagis is also a founding board member of two prominent museums: Istanbul Museum of Modern Art and Santral Museum of Art & Industry.

    In June 2006 he was also awarded the Italian Cavaliere State Recognition.

    Bagis in the 1990s was the President of the Federation of Turkish American Associations in New York, an umbrella organization.

    A popular civic leader, Bagis is the only President in this organizations’ history, who was unanimously re-elected for two terms. He has also served as the Advisory Board member of Turkish Citizens Abroad, a government body based in Ankara.

    Bagis was born in Bingol, Turkey, in 1970. His family originates from the neighboring Siirt province, where his late father, Abdullah Bagis served as mayor from 1974 through 1979.

    He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Resources Management as well as a Master of Public Administration degree, both from the Baruch College of The City University of New York.

    He is married to Beyhan Bagis, and they have two children.

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  • Biography of Turkish PM

    Biography of Turkish PM

    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced the members of the 61st Council of Ministers.

    The new cabinet has four deputy prime ministers and 21 ministers.

    erdo meclis1Erdogan’s biography on the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s official web-site is as follows:

    With family origins in Turkey’s Rize, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was born in Istanbul on February 26, 1954. He graduated in 1965 from Kasimpasa Piyale Elementary School and in 1973 from Istanbul Religious Vocational High School (Imam Hatip Lisesi). Erdogan received his high school diploma from Eyup High School where he took a graduation exam. Erdogan graduated in 1981 from Marmara University’s Faculty of Economics and Commercial Sciences.

    Preferring to blend his social life with politics from his early days, Erdogan embraced the disciplined teamwork and team spirit that football taught him ever since he first started to play the game at a young age. He engaged in the sport as an amateur over the years 1969-1982. It was also in those years that, as a young idealist, Recep Tayyip Erdogan began to feel a concern for national issues and the problems of society. This is when he took the first step in participating in active politics.

    An active member of various branches of the Turkish National Students’ Union in his high school and university years, in 1976, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected Chairman of the Beyoglu Youth Branch of the National Salvation Party, MSP, later to be elected Chairman of the Istanbul Youth Branches of the party in that same year. Erdogan continued to occupy these posts until 1980. Following the September 12 military intervention which closed down all political parties, Erdogan worked in the private sector as a consultant and a senior executive.

    When the Welfare Party was established in 1983, Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned to politics and in 1984 he became Beyoglu District Chairman of that party. In 1985, he was appointed the party’s Provincial Chairman for Istanbul as well as a member of its Central Decision-making and Executive Board. While acting as Provincial Chairman for Istanbul, Erdogan initiated a reorganization which served as a model for other political parties. In this period, Erdogan worked to increase the participation of women and young people in politics and took important steps in creating a grassroots movement by encouraging larger sections of the society to take an interest in politics. This reorganization earned the Welfare Party huge success in the Beyoglu district in the local elections of 1989, and became a model for political efforts all around the country.

    Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected Istanbul Mayor in the local elections of March 27, 1994. With his political skills, the importance he placed on teamwork, his successful management of human resources and financial matters, Erdogan was able to make correct diagnoses and create solutions for the many chronic problems of Istanbul, one of the most important metropolitan areas of the world. The water shortage problem was solved with the laying of hundreds of kilometers of new pipelines. The garbage problem was solved with the establishing of state-of-the-art recycling facilities. Air pollution was eliminated while Erdogan was in office with a plan that was developed to switch to natural gas. The city’s traffic and transportation jams were tackled with more than 50 bridges, viaducts and highways. Many projects that would shed light on the problems of later years were developed. Erdogan further took measures to ensure that municipal funds were used prudently, at the same time taking severe precautions to prevent corruption. Erdogan paid back a major portion of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s debt, which was two billion dollars when he took office, and meanwhile invested four billion dollars in the city. Opening an entirely new era in municipality affairs in Turkey, Erdogan became a model for other municipalities, while also earning a high level of public trust.

    Recep Tayyip Erdogan was sentenced to a prison term because of a poem he recited on December 12, 1997 in a public address in the province of Siirt. The poem was quoted from a book published by a state enterprise and one that had been recommended to teachers by the Ministry of Education. He was removed from the office of Istanbul Mayor due to this.

    After four months in prison, Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded to the insistent demands of the public in an environment of improved democratic conditions, and established the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) with a group of friends on August 14, 2001. He was subsequently elected Founding Chairman of AK Party by the Founding Board. From its first year, the confidence and trust of the people in AK Party resulted in its becoming the largest publicly-supported political movement in Turkey. In 2002, the general elections resulted with AK Party winning two-thirds of the seats in parliament, forming a single-party government.

    Not permitted to become a candidate deputy in the elections of November 3, 2002 because of the court order against him, Erdogan participated in the renewal elections for the province of Siirt on March 9, 2003 upon the lifting of the legal obstacles to his candidacy for parliamentary membership. Receiving 85 percent of the votes in this election, Erdogan became a deputy for the province of Siirt for the 22nd Term of Parliament.

    Appointed Prime Minister on March 15, 2003, Recep Tayyip Erdogan continued to harbor his ideal of a bright and rapidly developing Turkey, implementing numerous reforms of vital importance within a short period of time. A great deal was achieved in democratization, attaining transparency and preventing corruption. Parallel to this, inflation, which had adversely affected the country’s economy and the people’s psychological state of mind for decades, was finally taken under control and the Turkish Lira retrieved its former prestige through the elimination of six zeros. Interest rates for public borrowings were pulled down, per capita income grew significantly. A host of new dams, housing projects, schools, hospitals and power plants were inaugurated at a pace never before witnessed in the history of the country. All of these positive developments were named “the Silent Revolution” by some foreign observers and Western leaders.

    In addition to the major initiatives that have been characterized as turning points in the country’s journey toward becoming a member of the European Union, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s sensible foreign policy and intensive diplomatic visits have paved the path for a lasting solution in the Cyprus issue and the development of productive relations with several countries around the world. With the stability that has been achieved, Turkey’s internal dynamics have been revived, causing it to be a central point of interest. Turkey’s foreign trade volume and political power have increased not only in its own geographical region, but on an international scale as well.

    Recep Tayyip Erdogan is married and the father of four.

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