Abdülkadir Aksu (/ɑːbduːlˈkɑːdər ˈɑːksuː/ ahb-dool-KAH-dər AHK-soo; Turkish: [abdylkaːˈdiɾ ˈaksu]; born 1944, Diyarbakır) is a Turkish politician from Diyarbakır. According to some sources, he is Kurdish;[1][2][3] according to Üzeyir Tekin, he is of partial Albanian and Kurdish origin;[4] and according to Hasan Celal Güzel, a friend of Aksu family, he is of Turkish (Turkmen) origin.[5]
Abdülkadir Aksu | |
|---|---|
| Minister of the Interior | |
| In office 19 November 2002 – 7 May 2007 | |
| Prime Minister | Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip Erdoğan |
| Preceded by | Muzaffer Ecemiş |
| Succeeded by | Osman Güneş |
| In office 31 March 1989 – 24 November 1991 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Mustafa Kalemli |
| Succeeded by | Mustafa Kalemli |
| Minister of state (Responsible for Southeastern Anatolia Project) | |
| In office 6 March 1996 – 28 June 1996 | |
| Prime Minister | Mesut Yılmaz |
| Member of the Grand National Assembly | |
| In office 18 April 1999 – 7 June 2015 | |
| Constituency | Istanbul (III) (1999, 2002, 2007, 2011) |
| In office 8 January 1996 – 18 April 1999 | |
| Constituency | Diyarbakır (1995) |
| In office 29 November 1987 – 20 October 1991 | |
| Constituency | Diyarbakır (1987) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 12, 1944 Diyarbakır, Turkey |
| Political party | Justice and Development Party (2001 - present) Virtue Party (1998 - 2001) Welfare Party (1996 - 1998) Motherland Party (1987 - 1996) |
He is a member of the Community of İskenderpaşa, a Turkish sufistic community of Naqshbandi tariqah.[6]
Early life and education
editHe attended high school in Diyarbakır and in 1968 he graduated with a degree in political sciences from the Ankara University.[7] During his time at the university he became a member of in the Free Thought Club which was as a counterweight to the Socialist Thought Club.[7] The Free Thought Club was to be influential in politics as several members of its executive board became ministers in the Turkish Government.[7] Aksu also founded the Diyarbakır Association in Ankara, aimed as an organization to connect the people of Diyarbakır.[7]
Professional career
editSince his graduation, he entered the public administration and was assigned as a Kaymakam in a variety of districts. In 1985, while being the Kaymakam of Gaziantep, he was bequested with the award of the Bureaucrat of the Year.[7]
Political career
editHe was elected a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, representing Diyarbakir for the Motherland Party (ANAP) in 1987.[8] He became the Minister of the Interior in 1989 in the Government of Turgut Özal which he stayed also through the Government of Yilidirm Akbulut.[9] During his membership in the ANAP, he was a prominent advocate of Özals conciliatory policies dubbed as the "Politics of Four Inclinations".[7] He was again elected to parliament for Diyarbakır in the parliamentary election of 1995.[10] He then left the Motherland Party, and joined the Welfare Party (RP), for which he served as a member of the administrative board.[7] After the ban of the RP in 1998, he became a member of the Virtue Party[7] which was a predecessor of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). For the AKP, he served as the Interior Minister from 2002 to 2007[11] and became its party vice-chair in replacement of Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat in 2008.[12] In May 2019 he was assigned the post of the chair of the state-owned Vakifbank.[13]
Personal life
editHe is married and is the father of two children.[14]
References
edit- ^ Natali, Denise, The Kurds and the state: evolving national identity in Iraq, Turkey, and Iran, Syracuse University Press, 2005, p. 114.
- ^ Maya Shatzmiller, Nationalism and Minority Identities in Islamic Societies, McGill-Queen's Press, 2005, ISBN 0-7735-2848-2, p. 255. "Abdulkadir Aksu, a prominent Kurdish politician from Diyarbakır".
- ^ Emrullah Uslu, "Turkey’s Kurdish Problem: Steps Toward a Solution", Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 1521-0731, Vol: 30, No 2, 2007, pp. 157–172. "many ethnic Kurds have been appointed to high government positions, including Abdulkadir Aksu".
- ^ Tekin, Üzeyir (April 2010). Abdülkadir Aksu. Oriennt Yayınları. ISBN 978-975-6124-09-3.[page needed]
- ^ "Hasan Celal Güzel: Merkez sağda birlik için Özal'a 'Demirel cumhurbaşk..." zaman. 2006-01-31. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
- ^ Eurasia Review: "The Naqshbandi-Khalidi Order And Political Islam In Turkey – Analysis" By Hudson Institute September 5, 2015
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Who's who in Politics in Turkey" (PDF). Heinrich Böll Stiftung. pp. 3–5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ Şafak, Yeni (2020-02-12). "Diyarbakır Seçim Sonuçları 1987 - Genel Seçim 1987". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-12-01.
- ^ "Türki̇ye Büyük Mi̇llet Mecli̇si̇".
- ^ Şafak, Yeni (2020-02-12). "Diyarbakır Seçim Sonuçları 1995 - Genel Seçim 1995". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-12-01.
- ^ "Abdulkadir Aksu, Republic of Turkey: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
- ^ "U-turn in AKP's Kurdish policy". Hurriyet Daily News (in Turkish). Retrieved 2022-04-10.
- ^ "President Erdoğan's political elites to run state-owned banks". Ahval. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
- ^ "Abdulkadir Aksu Kimdir ? - Abdulkadir Aksu Hayatı ve Biyografisi". www.haberler.com. Retrieved 2020-12-01.