Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the President of Turkey.

Short biography

Recep Erdogan was born in Istanbul, February 26, 1954.

He received his higher education at Marmara University, where he successfully graduated from the Faculty of Economics.

As a young man Erdogan played soccer at a local semi-professional club.Fenerbahce FC was even going to sign him to a contract, but Erdogan's father refused.

His political career began in 1994, when Recep Erdogan was elected mayor of Istanbul.

In 2001, Erdogan established a political force called the Justice and Development Party. And the next year, 2002, in the Turkish parliamentary elections Erdogan's party won.

However, because of his criminal record, Erdoğan was able to become prime minister only when the U.S. operation in Iraq began, in connection with which Turkey has changed the relevant points in its legislation.

In 2014, Turkey held its first-ever national presidential election. Erdoğan won in the first round with more than 51% of the vote.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan declares Turkey's support for NATO and the country's movement into the European Union.

The main events of Erdogan's presidency

• The shooting down of the Russian plane.

In 2015, a Turkish Air Force fighter jet shot down a Russian Su-24 for violating Turkish airspace. Despite the aggressive public statements by Russian public figures that followed the incident, it did not have a significant impact on Russian-Turkish relations in the end.

• A military coup

In 2016, a group of Turkish military tried to organize a military coup in the country. The attempt was harshly suppressed.

• Accusations of supporting terrorism

In 2015, the Russian Defense Ministry unexpectedly accused Recep Erdogan of selling arms and ammunition to terrorists and providing them with financial aid.

• Support for Ukraine

On the one hand, Recep Erdoğan has regularly voiced his support for Ukraine. He promoted the release of a number of Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia - Erdoğan and Putin communicated on the subject over the phone. He urged Russia to release captured Ukrainian Navy sailors. According to a number of sources, Erdoğan contributed to Ukraine's receiving Tomos.

At the same time, however, Turkey continues to maintain close relations with Russia. The Turkish army has purchased S-400 air defense systems from Russia. The construction of theTurkish Stream gas pipeline is ongoing.

Erdogan's Family.

The wife of the Turkish president is Emine Erdogan. Involved in charity, known for helping the victims of the floods in Pakistan.

Children of the Turkish president - Bilal Erdogan, Ahmet Burak Erdogan, Sümeye Erdogan and Esra Erdogan.