Early life and career of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

'The New Sultan: Erdoğan and the Crisis of Modern Turkey' by Soner Çağaptay (IB Tauris, 240 pages, $25)

President Tayyip Erdoğan effectively started his campaign for re-election in November 2019 with a series of speeches on Aug. 7-9 in the Black Sea cities of Rize, Trabzon and Giresun.

From his speeches, it can be understood that he is considering his campaign strategy in three phases:

"When the new lists are going to be announced," Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan told local executives of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Aug. 7 in the Black sea province of Trabzon. "No one should tell us 'Where did you find this thief?' about them. We must be very careful about this issue," he said. 

Mobile phone users in Turkey were surprised to hear a voice message by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan when placing a call around midnight on the anniversary of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the government still has a problem in "ruling the cultural and social field" in Turkey, despite being in power for 14 years. 

It was the beginning of 2003; Abdullah Gül was Turkey's Prime Minister. Fadıl Akgündüz, also known as Jet Fadıl, was an independent deputy from the southeastern province of Siirt. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was not yet elected as a deputy because of previous political bans. But as the leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) he went on a tour around EU countries.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on Turkish citizens living in Europe to have five children - two more than his usual calls to Turks in the homeland - in a bid to multiply their presence in the continent so that they will be the "future of Europe."

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on Turkish citizens living in Europe to have five children - two more than his usual calls to Turks in the homeland - in a bid to multiply their presence in the continent so that they will be the "future of Europe."

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has accused the top EU court of commencing a struggle between the "Christian cross and the Muslim crescent" following a ruling that allows companies to ban staff from wearing visible religious symbols. 

What a beautiful night it was… What a nice dream… What wonderful hopes they were… The whole country was waiting for the decision from Brussels…

That night on Oct. 5, 2005, then Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan, insisting on pursuing Turkey's membership of the European Union, was enshrined in all of our hearts. Then Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül was respected by everyone.