Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the current president of Turkey, and he has been in the news lately for his decisions. Though Erdogan may have spent a lot of time in the spotlight, there are some things about him that not very many people know. Here, we present 15 things you probably didn’t know about Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
Number Fifteen: He Has Been Married for Almost 40 Years. Erdogan’s wife is named Emine Erdogan, and they got married on July 4, 1978. That’s almost 40 years of marriage. Impressive! He and his wife have two daughters and two sons together.
Number Fourteen: He Was a Semi-Professional Football Player. Before entering the world of politics, Erdogan was a semi-professional football (soccer) player! The man clearly has skills in the court and on the field.
Number Thirteen: He Is a Very Polarizing Figure. Erdogan has been both highly praised and highly criticized for his practices. He has been praised for improving the economy of Turkey and introducing political reform. However, he has also been highly criticized for his failure to protect women’s rights and for trying to subdue Turkey’s secularity.
Number Twelve: He Hates Social Media. In fact, Erdogan hates social media so much that he has called it “the worst menace to society.”
Number Eleven: He Has Been Involved in Politics for a Long Time. Erdogan got his start in politics in 1984, when he was elected as a district head for the Welfare Party. He became mayor of Istanbul in 1994, and he became president of Turkey in 2014. He was also Turkey’s Prime Minister from 2003 to 2014.
Number Ten: He Served Time in Prison. Erdogan was in prison for four months after the Welfare Party was banned. He was officially put in prison for inciting religious hatred after he had recited a poem that was deemed controversial.
Number Nine: He Was Elected President in a Unique Way. Erdogan was elected president of Turkey on August 10, 2014. He was elected during the first ever direct elections in Turkey. Stay tuned for part two of this list, coming soon!