Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

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This article is about the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey. For other persons of the same name, see Erdoğan (disambiguation).
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Incumbent
Assumed office 
14 March 2003
President Abdullah Gül
Deputy Cemil Çiçek
Bülent Arınç
Preceded by Fethullah Gülen
In office
27 March 1994 – 6 November 1998
Preceded by Nurettin Sözen
Succeeded by Ali Müfit Gürtuna
Born 26 February 1954 (1954-02-26) (age 56)
Kasımpaşa, Istanbul, Turkey
Political party Justice and Development Party
Spouse(s) Emine Erdoğan
Alma mater Marmara University
Religion Sunni Islam
Signature Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Website Rte.gen.tr

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Turkish pronunciation: [reˈdʒep taːˈjip ˈerdoː.an]; born February 26, 1954) is a Turkish politician, a former mayor of Istanbul and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey since 14 March 2003. He is also the chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AK Parti), which holds a majority of the seats in the Turkish Parliament.

Contents

[edit] Personal life and education

Erdoğan was born in Istanbul to a family that moved from Rize. Historian Cezmi Yurtsever claims that his family descends from the family of Bagatlı Recep, a large Muslim Turkish family that was settled around Trabzon after Mehmed II's conquest of the city.[1][2] "Bagatlı Recep", Recep from Bagat, died in 1916 fighting against the invading Russian and Armenian forces.[1]

Erdoğan spent his early childhood in Rize, where his father was a member of the Turkish Coast Guard.[3][3] The family returned to Istanbul when Erdoğan was 13 years old.[3] As a teenager, he sold lemonade and sesame buns on the streets of Istanbul's rougher districts to earn extra money.[3] Brought up in a observant Muslim family, he graduated from a religious high school (İmam Hatip school) and then studied Business Administration at Aksaray School of Economics and Commercial Sciences (now it is known as Marmara University's Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences).[4]

In his youth, Erdoğan played semi-professional football in a local club.[4][5][6] The stadium of the local football club of the district he grew up in, Kasımpaşa S.K., a team which is currently playing in the Turkish Süper Lig, is named after him.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan married Emine Erdoğan (née Gülbaran) (b. 1955 in Siirt), whom he met during a conference, on 4 July 1978.[7] The couple has two sons (Ahmet Burak, Necmeddin Bilâl) and two daughters (Esra, Sümeyye).[7] Erdoğan gave a speech in New York on 19 December 2006 in which he talked mainly about the good relations between citizens of Turkey who come from different backgrounds by giving an example from his own life.

[edit] Early political career

[edit] Mayor of Istanbul, 1994-1998

Wiki letter w.svg This section requires expansion.

[edit] Imprisonment, 1998

Before his conviction, the Welfare Party, of which he was a member at the time, was declared unconstitutional and shut down by the Turkish constitutional court on the grounds of threatening the Kemalist nature of Turkey. Erdogan became a constant speaker at the demonstrations held by his colleagues from the banned Welfare Party.[8]

He was given a prison sentence after he had read poetry regarded as a violation of Kemalism by judges. It included lines translated as "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers..."[3]

[edit] Prime Ministership, 2003-present

See also: Turkish general election, 2002 and Turkish general election, 2007

In 2001, he established the moderate Justice and Development Party with former Fazilet Partisi and Anavatan Partisi members, and became Prime Minister of Turkey in 2003.[9]

Erdogan addresses the members of parliament during a heated debate at the Turkish Parliament about democracy and the "democratic initiative", a process started by the government with the aim to improve human rights.

[edit] Democracy

Erdogan's pro-EU government instituted several democratic reforms such as giving the European Court of Human Rights supremacy over Turkish courts, diminishing the powers of the 1991 Anti-Terror Law which had constrained Turkey’s democratization, and passing a partial amnesty to reduce penalties faced by many members of the Kurdish terrorist organization PKK who had surrendered to the government.

The government planned several times to reform the Turkish Constitution of 1982 in a more democratic "civil constitution", but the main opposition party CHP did not want to participate.

In 2009, the Turkish government under Prime Minister Erdogan announced a plan to help end the quarter-century-long conflict that has cost more than 40,000 lives. The government’s plan, supported by the European Union, allowed the Kurdish language to be used in all broadcast media and political campaigns, and restore Kurdish names to cities and towns that have been given Turkish ones.[10]


Such measures, many of which have been required for entry to the European Union, were inconceivable in the early 1980s, when aggressive state policies prohibited use of the Kurdish language and other cultural and political rights for the Kurds.

“We took a courageous step to resolve chronic issues that constitute an obstacle along Turkey’s development, progression and empowerment.” Erdogan said regarding the issue.[11]

[edit] Secularism

Since Erdogan has been active in politics he was videly criticized for putting at risk the separation of religion and state because his party has roots in political Islam.[12]

[edit] Economy

In 2002, Erdogan inherited a Turkish economy deep in recession due to the financial crisis of Ecevit's coalition government. Erdogan supported Finance Minister Ali Babacan in enforcing macro-economic policies. Erdogan tried to attract more foreign investors to Turkey and lifted most of government regulations, with the average GDP growth rate 7.3% during his premiership.[13] The public debt as percentage of annual gross domestic product declined from 74% in 2002 to 39% in 2009.

The World Bank praised Erdogan for the couragous reforms and economic stability in the country. [14]

[edit] Justice

On March 2006, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) for the first time in Turkey's history held a press conference and publicly protest the obstruction of the appointment of judges to the high courts for over 10 months. It claimed Erdogan wanted to fill the vacant posts with his own appointees which Erdoğan was accused of creating a rift with the Turkey's highest court of appeals (the Yargitay) and high administrative court (the Danıştay). Erdogan claimed that the constitution gave power of assigning members to his elected party.[15]

On May 2007, the head of the top court in Turkey has asked prosecutors to consider whether Erdogan should be charged over critical comments regarding the election of Abdullah Gul as president.[15] Erdoğan said the ruling was "a disgrace to the justice system", and criticized the Constitutional Court which had invalidated a presidential vote because a boycott of other parties meant there was no quorum. Prosecutors have already investigated his earlier comments, including saying it had fired a "bullet at democracy". Tülay Tuğcu, head of the Constitutional Court, condemned Erdoğan for "threats, insults and hostility" towards the justice system.[15]

The Turkish parliament agreed to reduce the age of candidacy to the parliament from 30 to 25 and abolished the death penalty in all instances, including war time.

[edit] Health

On April 2006, Erdoğan unveiled a social security reform package demanded by the International Monetary Fund under a loan deal. Erdoğan claimed that the move, which was passed with fierce opposition, was the one of the most radical reforms. Turkey’s three social security bodies were united under one roof, bringing equal health services and retirement benefits for members of all three bodies. Under the second bill, everyone below the age of 18 will be entitled to free health services, irrespective of whether they pay premiums to any social security organization or not. The bill also envisages a gradual increase in the retirement age. Starting from 2036, the retirement age will eventually increase to 65 as of 2048 for both men and women.[16]

On January 2008, the Turkish Parliament adopted a law on a complete prohibition of smoking in the most of the public places.

[edit] Foreign policy

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Barack Obama in Istanbul, Turkey, Apr. 07, 2009.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Dmitry Medvedev at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, Sep. 26, 2009.

[edit] United States

When Barack Obama became President of United States, he made his first overseas trip to Turkey.

At a joint news conference in Turkey, Obama said: "I'm trying to make a statement about the importance of Turkey, not just to the United States but to the world. I think that where there's the most promise of building stronger U.S.-Turkish relations is in the recognition that Turkey and the United States can build a model partnership in which a predominantly Christian nation, a predominantly Muslim nation -- a Western nation and a nation that straddles two continents," he continued, "that we can create a modern international community that is respectful, that is secure, that is prosperous, that there are not tensions -- inevitable tensions between cultures -- which I think is extraordinarily important."[17]

[edit] European Union

Erdoğan was named by the European Voice Organization "The European Of The Year 2004" for the reforms in his country. Erdogan said in a comment that "Turkey's accession shows that Europe is a continent where civilisations reconcile and not clash." [18]

On 3 October 2005, the negotiations for Turkey's accession to the EU formally started during Erdoğan's tenure as Prime Minister.[19]

[edit] Greece and Cyprus

During Erdoğan's Prime Ministership, relations with Greece have been normalized. The political and economic relations are strongly improved. In 2007, Prime Minister Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis met on the bridge over the Evros River at the border between Greece and Turkey, for the inauguration of the Greek-Turkish natural gas pipeline, linking the longtime Aegean rivals through a project that will give Caspian gas its first direct Western outlet and help ease Russia’s energy dominance.

Turkey and Greece signed agreement to create a Combined Joint Operational Unit within the framework of NATO to participate in Peace Support Operations.[20]

Erdogan and his party strongly supported the EU backed referendum of Cyprus, 2004 to reunify the island.[21]

[edit] Reconciliation with Armenia

Main article: Armenia-Turkey relations

In 2005, international airspace between Armenia and Turkey has been reopened. Between May 2005 and October 2006, the Turkish Ministry of Culture financed the restoration of an old Armenian church. The restoration had a stated budget of 2 million New Turkish Lira (approximately 1.4 million USD)

During Erdoğan's Prime Ministership, Abdullah Gül became the first Turkish head of state to visit Armenia, when he made the trip to Yerevan to watch a FIFA World Cup qualifying match between the countries.[22] Erdoğan also met numerous times with the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, the latest such meeting taking place during the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2009.[23]

On August 31, 2009, Turkey and Armenia signed protocols in Zurich to improve relations between the two countries.[24]

[edit] Iraq

On March 23, 2009, Abdullah Gul became the first Turkish head of state to visit Iraq in 33 years. Under Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Prime Ministry, Iraq and Turkey signed 48 trade agreements by the Iraqi-Turkish Strategic Council in Baghdad. Agreements signed included sectors of security, energy, oil, electricity, water, health, trade, environment, transport, housing, construction, agriculture, education, higher education, and defense.

Turkish government also warmed up relations with Iraqi Kurdistan by opening a Turkish university in Arbil, and a Turkish consulate in Mosul.[25]

[edit] Syria

During Erdoğan's term of office, the diplomatic relations between Turkey and Syria have significantly improved. In 2004, President Bashar al-Assad arrived in Turkey for the first official visit by a Syrian President in 57 years. In late 2004, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan signed a free trade agreement with Syria. The visa restrictions between the two countries have been lifted in 2009, which caused an economic boom in the regions near the Syrian border.[26]

Erdoğan walks out of the session at the World Economic Forum in 2009, vows never to return.[27]

[edit] Davos Affair

On 29 January 2009, Erdoğan attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, the debate became heated in relation to the Gaza conflict. The Israeli President Shimon Peres was heavily criticized by Erdogan (sitting beside him) over the handling of the conflict as response to Peres' strong language. Erdoğan accused the moderator that Peres had even longer time than all the other panelists combined.[28][29] The moderator, David Ignatius told Erdoğan that there was not enough time to "start the debate again" when he requested extra time of "one minute" beyond that which he had previously been allotted. Erdogan responded by walking out of the panel and vowing never to attend another Davos forum again.

[edit] Elections

[edit] Presidential elections 2007

See also: Turkish constitutional referendum, 2007

On April 14, 2007, an estimated 300,000 people marched in Ankara to protest the possible candidacy of Erdoğan in the 2007 presidential election, afraid that if elected as President, he would alter the secular nature of the Turkish state.[30] Erdoğan announced on April 24, 2007 that the party had decided to nominate Abdullah Gül as the AKP candidate in the presidential election.[31][32] The protests continued over the next several weeks, with over one million reported at an April 29 rally in Istanbul,[33][34] tens of thousands reported at separate protests on May 4 in Manisa and Çanakkale,[35] and anywhere from one to two million in İzmir on May 13.[36] Early parliamentary elections were called after the failure of the parties in parliament to agree on the next Turkish president. The opposition parties boycotted the parliamentary vote and deadlocked the election process. At the same time, Erdoğan claimed the failure to elect a president was a failure of the Turkish political system and proposed to modify the constitution.

Abdullah Gül was later elected President after the general elections on 22 July 2007 that saw AKP and Erdoğan brought back to power with 46.7 percent of the vote. Later in 2007, Turkish constitutional referendum approved with the support of 69% of the voters to modify the constitution to allow the people to elect the President.

[edit] General elections 2007

See also: Turkish general election, 2007

The stage of the elections was set for a fight for legitimacy in the eyes of voters between his government and the country’s kemalist opposition. Erdoğan used the events at that took place during the ill-fated Presidential elections a few months earlier as a part of the general election campaign of his party. In the night of 22 July 2007, it became obvious that AKP had won an important victory over the opposition, garnering 46.7 percent of the popular vote. July 22 elections were only the second time in the Turkish Republic's history whereby an incumbent governing party won an election by increasing its share of popular support.

On 14 March 2008, Turkey's Chief Prosecutor asked the country's Constitutional Court to ban Erdogan's governing party.[37] The party later escaped a ban on 30 July 2008, a year after winning 46.7 percent of the vote in national elections, only receiving a removal of 50% share of their public granted funds.[38].

[edit] Local Elections 2009

See also: Turkish local elections, 2009

Turkey held local elections on 29 March 2009. The overall winner was Erdogan's ruling center-right AK Party, with 39% of eligible votes.

[edit] Honors and accolades

[edit] Awards

  • On January 29, 2004, Erdogan received the Profiles of Courage Award from the AJC, for promoting peace between cultures.[39]
  • On December 1, 2004, Erdogan was named European of the Year by the weekly European Voice, for having put Turkey on the path to reform.[40]
  • On September 2, 2005, Erdogan received the Mediterranean Award for Institutions (Italian: Premio Mediterraneo Istituzioni). This was awarded by the Fondazione Mediterraneo.[41]
  • On August 8, 2006, Erdogan received the Caspian Energy Integration Award from the Caspian Integration Business Club.[42]
  • On January 15, 2008, Erdogan received together with the Spanish prime minister Zapatero the Building Bridges Award from the AMSS(UK), for their efforts to unify communities separated by race, culture and religion, for promoting a climate of respect, and peaceful co-existence through launching the Alliance of Civilizations project.[43]
  • On June 9, 2009, Erdogan was the honor guest of 20th Crans Montana Forum in Brussels and received the Prix de la Fondation, for democracy and freedom.[44]
  • On October 26, 2009, the Government of Pakistan awarded Erdogan the Nishan-e-Pakistan, the highest civilian award in Pakistan.[45]
  • On December 29, 2009, Erdogan received the Award for Contribution to World Peace from the Turgut Özal Thought and Move Association.[46]
  • On January 12, 2010, Erdogan won the King Faisal International Prize for "service to Islam" from the King Faisal Foundation.[47]
  • On February 23, 2010, Erdogan received the Nodo Culture Award from the mayor of Seville for his efforts to launch the Alliance of Civilizations initiative.[48]
  • On March 1, 2010, Erdogan won the UN–HABITAT award in memorial of Rafik Hariri. A seven member international jury unanimously found Mr Erdogan deserving of the award because of his “excellent achievement and commendable conduct in the area of leadership, statesmanship and good governance. Erdogan also initiated the first roundtable of mayors during the Istanbul conference, which led to a global, organized movement of mayors.” [49]

[edit] Honorary doctorates

[edit] Honorary citizenship

  • Erdoğan received honorary citizenship of Seoul on February 2004.[58]
  • Erdoğan received honorary citizenship of Tehran on February 2009.[59]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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  2. ^ http://cezmiyurtsever.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=400&Itemid=3
  3. ^ a b c d e "[1]," BBC News, 4 November 2002
  4. ^ a b "Profile: Recep Tayyip Erdogan". BBC News. 2007-07-18. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6900616.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-29. 
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  6. ^ "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/913988/Recep-Tayyip-Erdogan. Retrieved 2008-08-29. 
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  8. ^ Barry M. Rubin; Political Parties in Turkey P.68
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  12. ^ http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/300000-turks-protest-erosion-of-secularism-under-erdogan/197691.html
  13. ^ Birch, Nick. "Turkish prime minister plays economy card to cool protests," The Guardian, 1 May 2007.
  14. ^ http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-118989214.html
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  26. ^ [2]
  27. ^ "Leaders of Turkey and Israel Clash at Davos Panel". New York Times. 2009-01-29. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/world/europe/30clash.html. Retrieved 2009-01-30. 
  28. ^ "Turkish PM storms out of Davos' Gaza session, slams moderator". Hürriyet. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/world/10887282.asp?gid=244. Retrieved 2009-02-01. 
  29. ^ "Stormy debate in Davos over Gaza". Al Jazeera English. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/01/20091291976879610.html. Retrieved 2009-02-01. 
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  31. ^ "Turkey's ruling party announces FM Gul as presidential candidate," Xinhua, April 24, 2007.
  32. ^ "Turkey 'must have secular leader'," BBC News, April 24, 2007.
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  35. ^ "Saylan: Manisa mitingi önemli" (in Turkish). Milliyet. http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2007/05/04/guncel/axgun01.html. Retrieved 2007-05-04. 
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  37. ^ "Turkish ruling party put on trial". BBC News. 2008-07-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7482793.stm. Retrieved 2009-02-01. 
  38. ^ "Turkey's ruling party escapes ban". BBC News. 2008-07-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7533414.stm. Retrieved 2009-02-01. 
  39. ^ "Erdogan's Third U.S. Visit Comes Closest To Being a Charm". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. 2004-04-09. http://www.washington-report.org/component/content/article/260-2004-april/5060-erdogans-third-us-visit-comes-closest-to-being-a-charm.html. Retrieved 2004-04-09. 
  40. ^ "Europeans of the Year 2004, per category with reasons for nomination". European Voice. 2004-12-01. http://www.europeanvoice.com/page/the-evawards-europeans-of-the-year-winners-in-2004/1662.aspx. Retrieved 2005-12-01. 
  41. ^ "The Mediterranean Award for Institutions 2005 to Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan". euromedi.com. 2005-09-02. http://www.euromedi.org/attivita/dettaglioattivita.asp?idevento=989&lingua=eng. Retrieved 2005-09-02. 
  42. ^ "Erdogan to receive Caspian award for 'Reformer of the Year'". 2006-08-05. http://www.referansgazetesi.com/haber.aspx?HBR_KOD=46966&ForArsiv=1. Retrieved 2006-08-05. 
  43. ^ "2006 Building Bridges Award". 2008-01-15. http://www.amssuk.com/pressreleases/20080115amssuk_Press_Release.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-15. 
  44. ^ "Democracy award from the Crans Montana Forum". Hürriyet. 2009-06-09. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/11824866.asp?gid=233. Retrieved 2009-06-09. 
  45. ^ "Pakistan, Turkey can together bring peace to region: Erdogan". Associated Press of Pakistan. 2009-10-26. http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=88433&Itemid=1. Retrieved 2009-10-26. 
  46. ^ "Turgut Özal Ödülü aldı, onun gibi konuştu: Allah'ın verdiği ömrü O'ndan başka alacak yoktur". Zaman. 2009-12-29. http://www.zaman.com.tr/wap.do?method=getSondakikaDetay&haberno=933739&sirano=0&sayfa=. Retrieved 2009-12-29. 
  47. ^ "King Faisal International Prize". 2010-01-12. http://www.kff.com/EN01/KFIP/1430H2010G/KFIPWinners1STI1430H2010G.html. Retrieved 2010-01-22. 
  48. ^ "Turkey's Erdogan awarded for peace efforts in Spain". 2010-02-23. http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=54518. Retrieved 2010-02-23. 
  49. ^ "Turkish premier is winner of Rafik Hariri Memorial Award". 2010-03-01. http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=8016&catid=5&typeid=6&subMenuId=0. Retrieved 2010-03-01. 
  50. ^ "St. John's Honors Prime Minister of Turkey". stjohns.edu. 2004-01-26. http://www.stjohns.edu/about/news/items/monthly/january04. Retrieved 2004-01-26. 
  51. ^ "Crimean Engineering and Pedagogics University awards Prime Minister Erdogan with Honorary Doctorate". Anatolian Agency. 2004-04-04. http://www.hri.org/news/turkey/anadolu/2004/04-04-04.anadolu.html#21. Retrieved 2004-04-04. 
  52. ^ "Başbakan Erdoğan'a Fahri Doktora" (in Turkish). Anatolian Agency. 2006-05-18. http://foto.aa.com.tr/popUp.do?arcId=507319. Retrieved 2006-05-18. 
  53. ^ "Girne Amerikan Üniversitesi'nden Başbakan Erdoğan'a Fahri Doktora" (in Turkish). haberler.com. 2006-07-20. http://www.haberler.com/girne-amerikan-universitesi-nden-basbakan-erdogan-haberi/. Retrieved 2006-07-20. 
  54. ^ "Turski premijer počasni doktor Univerziteta u Sarajevu". Sarajevo-x. http://www.sarajevo-x.com/clanak/080325117. Retrieved 2008-08-29. 
  55. ^ "2008-2009 Academic Year Inaugural Ceremony" (in Turkish). Fatih University. 2008-10-15. http://www.fatih.edu.tr/?news,1204. Retrieved 2008-10-15. 
  56. ^ a b "Erdogan receives double doctorate," Sabah, 04 July 2009.
  57. ^ "President al-Assad and Erdogan following up implementation of agreements and joint projects". Syrian Arab News Agency. 2009-07-22. http://www.sana.sy/eng/21/2009/07/22/236903.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
  58. ^ "Erdoğan: Our efforts are not enough". Radikal. 2004-02-10. http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=105645. Retrieved 2004-02-10. 
  59. ^ "Erdogan becomes honorary Tehran citizen". Press TV. 2009-02-02. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=84446&sectionid=351020101. Retrieved 2009-02-02. 

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Political offices
Preceded by
Nurettin Sözen		 Mayor of Istanbul
1994 – 1998		 Succeeded by
Ali Müfit Gürtuna
Preceded by
Abdullah Gul		 Prime Minister of Turkey
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G20 Leaders

Argentina Kirchner · Australia Rudd · Brazil Lula · Canada Harper · People's Republic of China Hu · European Union Barroso · France Sarkozy · Germany Merkel · India Singh · Indonesia Yudhoyono · Italy Berlusconi ·
Japan Hatoyama · Mexico Calderón · Russia Medvedev · Saudi Arabia Abdullah · South Africa Zuma · South Korea Lee · Turkey Erdoğan · United Kingdom Brown · United States Obama
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Erdoğan I Cabinet (2003–2007)
Erdoğan | Gül | Şahin | Babacan | Şener | Çubukçu | Aydın | Tüzmen | Atalay | Çiçek | Gönül | Aksu | Unakıtan | Çelik | Özak | Akdağ | Yıldırım | Eker | Başesgioğlu | Coşkun | Güler | Koç | Pepe 
Turkey circular emblem 2.JPG
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Erdoğan II Cabinet (2007–present)
Turkey circular emblem 2.JPG
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