Abdullah GUL

Abdullah GUL




Abdullah Gul became the 11th president of the Turkish Republic after receiving 339 votes of the lawmakers in the third round of presidential election in the parliament.
The Justice and Development Party deputy from Kayseri and Foreign Minister Abdullah GUL was born in Kayseri on October 29, 1950, the anniversary of the foundation of the Turkish Republic.
His middle name "Cumhur" which means people- was chosen because his birth coincided with Republic Day, but his family did not formally register "Cumhur" on his birth certificate.
His father, Ahmet Hamdi GUL, worked at an aircraft factory in Kayseri; his mother was the daughter of a teacher. Being the first male grandchild in the family, Abdullah GUL became the apple of the eye of both his paternal and maternal families, both of which are very old families.

In his youth GUL was instrumental in the formation of the ideology behind the Great East Thought Club and the National Turkish Students' Union. He closely monitored the seminars given by poet Necip Fazil Kisakürek.
After graduation from Istanbul University GUL did his doctorate in the faculty of economics. He later taught economics in Sakarya University's department of industrial engineering. GUL went to Saudi Arabia in 1983 to work in the Islamic Development Bank, where he would stay for eight years.

Abdullah GUL first encountered Turkish politics in 1991 when Necmettin Erbakan who was once prime minister of Turkiye asked GUL to work for his Welfare Party. In his early years in Parliament, GUL saw the appreciation of not only his own party, but other parties. GUL later became the Welfare Party's poster boy, particularly attracting attention in speeches and efforts on the parliamentary Planning and Budgetary Commission.
During his foreign missions, including those to the European Commission, he made many new friends and also paved the way to the Foreign Ministry. In 1993 he became his party's vice president in charge of foreign affairs.
After serving as a minister and the spokesman for the coalition government led by Erbakan, GUL continued to work with his closest friends at the party's Political Research Center and founded the new Justice and Development Party in August 2001.

GUL has made invaluable contributions to the AK Party government, both as prime minister and as foreign minister. Under his tutelage Turkiye started progress towards membership in the EU, was active in the resolution of international crises and established new points of communal reconciliation. The Cypriot policy Turkiye has followed for years underwent a complete change during his time at the Foreign Ministry. The international community began to closely monitor Turkiye's foreign policy during his time at the ministry's helm.

His bid for presidency, which has never ceased to have tension and excitement for the experienced politician, began on April 20, when GUL was officially announced by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan as the party's only presidential candidate.
Foreign Minister GUL, whose road was full of obstacles, has received the positive results of his determined walk toward the Presidential Palace. Having made a very bright career in the political sphere and having obtained a golden opportunity to become the top man in the state, GUL has been at the heart of the most heated national debates.
Turkiye was soon to find itself in a very tense atmosphere. The opposition parties did not participate in the first round of the vote in the parliament, and the Constitutional Court incapacitated the Parliament by making an arbitrary interpretation of the quorum of 367. Therefore Erdogan's government had no other choice except head for elections.

Ultimately, the elections were set for July 22. It was held under the shadow of the presidential election crisis. The victimization of Abdullah GUL deeply influenced the voters. And GUL participated in the election rallies in person. He was received everywhere he went with the slogan of "President GUL!" The AK Party's percentage of the vote, 47 percent, was binding both for GUL and his party.
And the discussions over Abdullah GUL's presidential bid were not over. Although Prime Minister Erdogan and GUL were tight-lipped about who would run, GUL was determined. He strongly implied his candidacy by noting in a statement he made right after the elections: "I cannot overlook the people's will."