:Abdullah Gül

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Abdullah Gül

| office = 11th President of Turkey

| honorific-prefix = His Excellency

| image = File:Абдуллах Гюль (8613568906).jpg

| caption = Gül in 2013

| predecessor = Ahmet Necdet Sezer

| primeminister = Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

| successor = Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

| signature = Abdullah Gül's signature.png

| signature_alt = Abdullah Gül's signature.png

| office2 = Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey

| predecessor2 = Ertuğrul Yalçınbayır

| primeminister2 = Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

| party = Independent (2007–present)

| otherparty = {{plainlist|

Welfare Party (1991–1998)
Virtue Party (1998–2001)
Justice and Development Party (2001–2007)

}}

| deputy1 = Abdüllatif Şener
Mehmet Ali Şahin
Ertuğrul Yalçınbayır

| office1 = 24th Prime Minister of Turkey

| predecessor1 = Bülent Ecevit

| president1 = Ahmet Necdet Sezer

| successor1 = Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

| successor2 = Cemil Çiçek

| 2blankname2 = Served with

| 2namedata2 = Abdüllatif Şener
Mehmet Ali Şahin

| term_start = 28 August 2007

| term_end = 28 August 2014

| term_start1 = 18 November 2002

| term_end1 = 14 March 2003

| term_start2 = 28 March 2003

| term_end2 = 28 August 2007

| office3 = Minister of Foreign Affairs

| primeminister3 = Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

| term_start3 = 14 March 2003

| term_end3 = 28 August 2007

| predecessor3 = Yaşar Yakış

| successor3 = Ali Babacan

| office4 = Minister of State

| primeminister4 = Necmettin Erbakan

| term_start4 = 28 June 1996

| term_end4 = 30 June 1997

| office5 = Member of the Grand National Assembly

| term_start5 = 20 October 1991

| term_end5 = 28 August 2007

| constituency5 = Kayseri (1991, 1995, 1999, 2002, 2007)

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1950|10|29|df=y}}

| birth_place = Kayseri, Turkey

| death_date =

| death_place =

| spouse = {{marriage|Hayrünnisa Özyurt|1980}}

| children = Ahmed Münir Gül
Mehmed Emre Gül
Kübra Gül

| alma_mater = Istanbul University
University of Exeter

| website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20140909184646/http://www.abdullahgul.gen.tr/pages/ Official website]

}}

Abdullah Gül ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Abdullah Gul from Turkey pronunciation (Voice of America).ogg|g|uː|l}}; {{IPA|tr|abduɫˈɫah ˈɟyl|lang}}; born 29 October 1950) is a Turkish politician who served as the 11th president of Turkey from 2007 to 2014.[http://www.tccb.gov.tr/pages/president/biography/ Presidency of the Republic of Turkey : Abdullah GÜL] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506182445/http://www.tccb.gov.tr/pages/president/biography/|date=6 May 2012}} He previously served for four months as Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003, and concurrently served as both Deputy Prime Minister and as Foreign Minister between 2003 and 2007. He is currently a member of the Advisory Panel for the President of the Islamic Development Bank.{{cite web|url=http://www.isdb.org/irj/portal/anonymous/idb_news_en|title=Islamic Development Bank|access-date=24 May 2016|archive-date=24 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124223103/http://www.isdb.org/irj/portal/anonymous/idb_news_en|url-status=live}}

Advocating staunch Islamist political views during his university years, Gül became a Member of Parliament for Kayseri in 1991 and was re-elected in 1995, 1999, 2002, and 2007. Initially a member of the Islamist Welfare Party, Gül joined the Virtue Party in 1998 after the former was banned for anti-secular activities. When the party split into hardline Islamist and modernist factions in 2000, Gül joined fellow party member Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in advocating the need for reform and moderation. He ran against serving leader Recai Kutan for the Virtue Party leadership at a time when Erdoğan was banned from holding political office. As the candidate for the modernist camp, he came second with 521 votes while Kutan won 633. He co-founded the moderate Justice and Development Party (AKP) with Erdoğan in 2001 after the Virtue Party was shut down in the same year, while hardline conservative members founded the Felicity Party instead.

Gül became prime minister after the AKP won a landslide victory in the 2002 general election while Erdoğan was still banned from office. His government removed Erdoğan's political ban by March 2003, after which Erdoğan became an MP for Siirt in a by-election and took over as prime minister. Gül subsequently served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister until 2007. His subsequent bid for the Presidency drew strong and highly vocal opposition from ardent supporters of secularism in Turkey and was initially blocked by the Constitutional Court due to concerns over his Islamist political background.Ercan Yavuz (31 July 2008) [http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=148988 "Evidence indicates Ergenekon tried to block presidential election"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091214083031/http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=148988 |date=14 December 2009 }}, todayszaman.com; retrieved 9 February 2009. He was eventually elected Turkey's first president with a background in Islamic politics after the 2007 snap general election.{{Cite news|work=CNN Türk|language=tr|title=Gül'ün adaylığını doğru bulmuyoruz|url=http://www.cnnturk.com/TURKIYE/haber_detay.asp?PID=318&haberID=384226|access-date=29 August 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070927215124/http://www.cnnturk.com/TURKIYE/haber_detay.asp?PID=318&haberID=384226| archive-date= 27 September 2007|url-status=live}}[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6966216.stm Turks elect ex-Islamist president] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080321132916/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6966216.stm |date=21 March 2008 }}, bbc.co.uk; retrieved 9 February 2009.

As president, Gül came under criticism for giving assent to controversial laws which have been regarded by the political opposition as unconstitutional.[http://www.todayszaman.com/news-340568-president-guls-approval-of-hsyk-law-means-farewell-to-rule-of-law.html President Gül bids farewell to rule of law] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222040204/http://www.todayszaman.com/news-340568-president-guls-approval-of-hsyk-law-means-farewell-to-rule-of-law.html |date=22 December 2014 }}, todayszaman.com; accessed 15 February 2015.[http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-main-opposition-takes-judicial-bill-to-constitutional-court.aspx?pageID=238&nID=62977&NewsCatID=338 Turkish main opposition takes judicial bill to constitutional court] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222041907/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-main-opposition-takes-judicial-bill-to-constitutional-court.aspx?pageID=238&nID=62977&NewsCatID=338 |date=22 December 2014 }}, hurriyetdailynews.com; accessed 15 February 2015. In June 2013, he signed a bill restricting alcohol consumption into law despite initially indicating a possible veto, which was seen as a contributing factor to sparking the Gezi Park protests.[http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67098 2013–14 anti-government protests in Turkey over restrictions on alcohol] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701063501/http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67098 |date=1 July 2014 }}, eurasianet.org; accessed 15 February 2015. Other controversies included a law tightening internet regulation in 2013,[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-government-idUSBREA1H1XL20140218 Turkey passes law tightening internet regulation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924224359/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-government-idUSBREA1H1XL20140218 |date=24 September 2020 }}, reuters.com; accessed 15 February 2015. a law increasing political control over the judiciary in 2014 designed to protect then Prime Minister Erdoğan and others from corruption charges[http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-president-gul-approves-judicial-law-with-reservations.aspx?pageID=449&nID=62973&NewsCatID=409 Gül signs judicial law increasing political control over the judiciary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222041004/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-president-gul-approves-judicial-law-with-reservations.aspx?pageID=449&nID=62973&NewsCatID=409 |date=22 December 2014 }}, hurriyetdailynews.com; accessed 15 February 2015. and a law giving the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) controversial new powers also in 2014.[http://www.todayszaman.com/news-346279-gul-fails-democracy-test-by-approving-controversial-mit-law.html Gül signs law giving MİT new powers] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222041449/http://www.todayszaman.com/news-346279-gul-fails-democracy-test-by-approving-controversial-mit-law.html |date=22 December 2014 }}, todayszaman.com; accessed 15 February 2015. Gül took a mediating approach during the Gezi Park anti-government protests{{Cite book|last=MacLean|first=Gerald|title=Abdullah Gul and the Making of the New Turkey|publisher=Oneworld|year=2014|isbn=9781780745633|location=London|pages=300–301}} and government corruption scandals.[https://www.voanews.com/a/rifts-emerge-between-turkey-pm-and-president/1767303.html Rifts emerge between Erdoğan and Gül], voanews.com; accessed 15 February 2015.

Early life, education and early career

Gül was born in Kayseri, central Anatolia on 29 October 1949, the 26th anniversary of the establishment of the modern Turkish nation, also known as Republic Day in Turkey. His father is Ahmet Hamdi Gül (1926–2017), a retired air force mechanic whilst his mother is Adviye Satoğlu (born 1931).{{Cite news|last=Kurt |first=Süleyman |work=Zaman |title='Cumhur' İkinci Kez Köşk Yolunda |language=tr |url=http://www.zaman.com.tr/webapp-tr/haber.do?haberno=575942 |access-date=29 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184807/http://www.zaman.com.tr/webapp-tr/haber.do?haberno=575942 |archive-date=30 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}{{Cite news|url=http://www.milliyet.com.tr/Siyaset/SonDakika.aspx?aType=SonDakika&ArticleID=971644&Kategori=siyaset|access-date=27 December 2008|title=Ergenekon davasında mahkemeler görevini yapacak|work=Milliyet|date=27 July 2008|language=tr|archive-date=17 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817013722/http://www.milliyet.com.tr/Siyaset/SonDakika.aspx?aType=SonDakika&ArticleID=971644&Kategori=siyaset|url-status=live}}

=Education=

Gül studied Economics at Istanbul University. During his graduate education, he spent two years (1976–1978) in London and studied at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. Returning to Turkey in 1978, he became an instructor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at Sakarya University while working on his doctoral research on Turkey's economic relations with other Muslim countries.{{Cite book|last=MacLean|first=Gerald|title=Abdullah Gul and the Making of the New Turkey|publisher=Oneworld|year=2014|isbn=9781780745626|location=London|pages=92}} He received his PhD from Istanbul University in 1983. Between 1983 and 1991, he worked at the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He was conferred an honorary PhD degree from Amity University, Noida on 8 February 2009, and a LL.D from the University of Dhaka on 13 February 2010.{{cite news |title=Doctor of Laws degree conferred on Abdullah Gül |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=22187 |newspaper=The Daily Star |date=13 February 2010 |access-date=7 January 2011 |archive-date=19 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919015256/http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=22187 |url-status=live }}

=Entry into politics=

Gül became acquainted with politics early during his high school years. During his university education, he became a member of the Islamist-nationalist Millî Türk Talebe Birliği (National Turkish Students' Union) in the line of Necip Fazıl's Büyük Doğu (Grand Orient) current.{{Cite news|work=World Bulletin |language=tr |title=Abdullah Gul's Unknown Sides/Exclusive |url=http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=8888 |access-date=31 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929181612/http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=8888 |archive-date=29 September 2007 |url-status=usurped }}

He was elected a member of the Turkish parliament for the Refah Partisi (RP, "the Welfare Party") from the Kayseri electoral district in 1991 and 1995. During these years, he made statements about the political system of Turkey that was designed by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the Turkish National Movement, which included "This is the end of the republican period" and "The secular system has failed and we definitely want to change it".{{Cite news|work=Milliyet|title=Cumhuriyet bitmiş|url=http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2007/04/27/yazar/asik.html|access-date=25 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100823181940/http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2007/04/27/yazar/asik.html|archive-date=23 August 2010|url-status=live}} These statements caused controversy when his candidacy for the 2007 presidential election was announced by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.{{Cite news|work=Deutsche Welle |language=tr |title=Abdullah Gül: The Man Who Would be Turkey's President |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2745136,00.html |access-date=28 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070823073451/http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0%2C2144%2C2745136%2C00.html |archive-date=23 August 2007 |url-status=live }}

In 1999, he kept his seat as a member of the Fazilet Partisi (FP, "the Virtue Party") which was subsequently outlawed by the Constitutional Court for its violation of the Constitution. Its predecessor, the Refah Partisi, was also outlawed by the Constitutional Court for its violation of the Constitution, especially the principle of secularism. By this time, Gül had apparently moderated his views and was reportedly considered to be part of the Virtue Party's reformist faction. Since 1993 in Ankara, he had been organizing an informal think-tank involving a group of Refah politicians who were discontented with the leadership of Necmettin Erbakan: these included Melih Gökçek, Bülent Arınç, Abdüllatif Şener, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Beşir Atalay. In August 2001, this group founded the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party), a party which billed itself as a moderate conservative party in the European tradition.MacLean, Abdullah Gul, pp. 176-201. He was elected once again to represent Kayseri in 2002.[http://www.mfa.gov.tr/sayin-abdullah-gul.en.mfa Abdullah Gül's historic profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229232111/http://www.mfa.gov.tr/sayin-abdullah-gul.en.mfa |date=29 December 2017 }}, Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (24 March 2014); retrieved 25 March 2014.

An interview he gave in 2002 summarizes his criticisms of the Refah Partisi under the leadership of Necmettin Erbakan and his portrayal of the AKP as a moderate party:

In the Welfare Party, there were groups demanding sharia rule. Welfare did not represent the local values we are now cultivating. The ideology of the party was partially shaped by alien imports. [He was referring to the impact of the Islamist ideology of the Iranian Revolution and Arab states on Welfare's ideology.] Our vision was at odds with the rest of the party. The despotic rule of Erbakan Hoca made it impossible for us to realize our vision under the rubric of the National View. We believe that modernization and being Muslim complement each other. We accept the modern values of liberalism, human rights, and market economy.Güneş Murat Tezcür, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Oc8qytMishIC&q=abdullah+gul&pg=PR3 Muslim Reformers in Iran and Turkey: The Paradox of Moderation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019204636/https://books.google.com/books?id=Oc8qytMishIC&pg=PR3&dq=tezcur+muslim+reformers&hl=en&sa=X&ei=T4huUqyHGcS72wW6rIDQCA&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=abdullah%20gul&f=false |date=19 October 2017 }}, Austin: University of Texas Press, 2010, p. 157.

Prime minister

File:Abdullah Gül.jpg

After the Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the most votes in the November 2002 general election, Gül was appointed Prime Minister, as AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was still banned from participating in politics. After Gül's government secured legislation allowing Erdoğan's return to politics, the latter took over as prime minister on 14 March 2003. Gül was appointed deputy prime minister and foreign minister. {{citation needed|date=March 2020}}MacLean, Abdullah Gul, pp. 236-7

Foreign minister

After becoming foreign minister in March 2003, Gül became the key player in Turkey's attempts to receive an accession date for the European Union and in its attempts to improve relations with Syria and maintaining its relationship with the Turkic-speaking countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus. {{Citation needed|date=November 2021}} On 8 January 2008, Gül flew to the United States to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.[https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/01/20080108-3.html President Bush Meets with President Gul of Turkey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010132815/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/01/20080108-3.html |date=10 October 2017 }}, The White House Archives, 8 January 2008.

Presidency (2007–2014)

File:Abdullah Gül (cropped version).jpg

Prime Minister Erdoğan announced on 24 April 2007 that Gül would be the Justice and Development Party candidate in the 2007 presidential election. Previously, there had been speculation that Erdoğan himself would be the party's candidate, which had provoked substantial opposition from secularists.[http://english.people.com.cn/200704/24/eng20070424_369332.html "Turkey's ruling party announces FM Gül as presidential candidate"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629191127/http://english.people.com.cn/200704/24/eng20070424_369332.html |date=29 June 2011 }}, Xinhua (People's Daily Online), 24 April 2007.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6587061.stm "Turkey 'must have secular leader'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429141245/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6587061.stm |date=29 April 2007 }}, BBC News, 24 April 2007. When a boycott of opposition parties in Parliament deadlocked the election process, Gül formally withdrew his candidacy on 6 May 2007. If elected he would be the first president to have been involved with Islamist parties. But a few days later, on 11 May 2007 when he inquired after the alterations to the Turkish constitution which now allowed the people to elect the president directly rather than a parliamentary vote, Gül announced that he was still intending to run.{{Cite news|work=Hürriyet|url=http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/6497246.asp?gid=180|title=Gül: Adaylığımız devam ediyor|language=tr|access-date=11 May 2007|archive-date=17 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817041810/http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/6497246.asp?gid=180|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/haber.aspx?id=6466839&tarih=2007-05-06|title=Gül adaylıktan çekildi|language=tr|work=Hürriyet|access-date=11 May 2007|archive-date=17 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817041746/http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/haber.aspx?id=6466839&tarih=2007-05-06|url-status=live}}

Following the July 2007 parliamentary election, the AKP renominated Gül as its presidential candidate on 13 August; the election was again held as a vote of parliament.[http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-08/14/content_6526529.htm "Turkey's ruling party renominates Gül as presidential candidate"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304095330/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-08/14/content_6526529.htm |date=4 March 2016 }}, Xinhua (People's Daily Online), 13 August 2007. On 14 August, Gül submitted his candidacy application to parliament and expressed his commitment to secularism at a news conference.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6946269.stm "Turkey's Gül vows secular agenda"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326064553/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6946269.stm |date=26 March 2012 }}, BBC News, 14 August 2007.

On 28 August 2007, he was elected president in the third round of voting; in the first two rounds, a two-thirds majority of MPs had been required, but in the third round he needed only a simple majority. Gül was sworn in immediately thereafter.[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/28/europe/EU-GEN-Turkey-Presidency.php "Turkish foreign minister wins presidency, in victory for Islamic-rooted government"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617174929/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/28/europe/EU-GEN-Turkey-Presidency.php |date=17 June 2008 }}, Associated Press, International Herald Tribune, 28 August 2007. The process was a very low-key affair.{{Cite news |work=Turkish Daily News |publisher=Hürriyet |title=Generals Protest Against Gül's Presidency |url=http://arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=-613252 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709081258/http://arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=-613252 |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 July 2012 |date=29 August 2007 |access-date=22 December 2008 |df=dmy-all }}

File:Dick Cheney and Abdullah Gül.jpg, March 2008]]

Gül's swearing-in was not attended by the Chief of the Turkish General Staff and was boycotted by the opposition Republican People's Party; then the hand-over of power at the presidential palace was held behind closed doors. Gül's wife was not present. The traditional evening reception hosted by the new president at the presidential palace for the country's highest authorities was announced for 11:30 in the morning and wives were not invited.{{Cite news|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=231647|title=Köşk'e ilk davet eşsiz|work=Radikal|access-date=15 February 2015|language=tr|first=Hilal|last=Koylu|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216002809/http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=231647|archive-date=16 February 2015|df=dmy-all}}

His presidency was described as a "new era in Turkish politics", for being the first president of Turkey with a background in Islamic politics.Amberin Zaman (29 August 2007). [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1561631/Turkey-elects-Islamist-president-Abdullah-Gul.html "Turkey elects Islamist president Abdullah Gül"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922122610/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1561631/Turkey-elects-Islamist-president-Abdullah-Gul.html |date=22 September 2018 }}, Telegraph.co.uk; retrieved 10 February 2009.

File:Abdullah Gul in Armenia (2008-09-06) 01.jpg, September 2008]]

File:Chatham House Prize 2010 President Gül (6024767021).jpg

File:Chatham House Prize 2010 (5163375167).jpg, 2010.]]

Gül received messages of congratulation from the US, EU and German authorities while Turkey's prime minister Tayyip Erdoğan made a statement saying "a structure doomed to uncertainty has been overcome".{{Cite news|language=tr|title=Türkiye'nin 11. Cumhurbaşkanı Abdullah Gül|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/index.php?tarih=29/08/2007|work=Radikal|date=29 August 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930220642/http://www.radikal.com.tr/index.php?tarih=29%2F08%2F2007|archive-date=30 September 2007|df=dmy-all}}

In September 2008 Gül became the first Turkish leader to visit Armenia where, in meetings with President Serzh Sarkisian, the two leaders formulated a solution to the tendentious problem of the genocide question, sparking a major debate in Turkey, but both the Armenian and Turkish parliaments refused to ratify the agreement.{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7602066.stm|title=Gül in landmark visit to Armenia|work=BBC News|date=6 September 2008|access-date=1 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107025841/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7602066.stm|archive-date=7 January 2009|url-status=live}}MacLean, Abdullah Gul, pp. 272-174. In November 2011, President Gül led a state visit to the United Kingdom as a guest of Queen Elizabeth II.British Monarchy website {{cite web|url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/StateVisitprogrammes/2011/TurkishStateVisit22to24November2011.aspx |title=Archived copy |access-date=12 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617041108/http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/StateVisitprogrammes/2011/TurkishStateVisit22to24November2011.aspx |archive-date=17 June 2012 }} The President met political and business leaders, visited the Olympic Park and was guest of honor at a state banquet at Buckingham Palace.

In November 2013, Gül called on Muslim countries to fight against what he called Islamophobia during his address at the 29th session of the COMCEC in Istanbul. He said:

Islamophobia remains a critical problem, which instigates unsubstantial prejudices against our region and Muslims. Terror plays a role in the persistence of such problems. We have to combat any form of deviation playing into the hands of people who equate terrorism with Islam, the religion of love, tolerance and conciliation.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20131128063940/http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=123322 Speech by Gül against Islamophobia]}}, worldbulletin.net; accessed 15 February 2015.

After leaving the office

File:Abdullah Gül 2011-06-07.jpg

After leaving the office former president kept political silence, focusing mainly upon social and cultural issues, as well as charity. He had not announced his political judgements or expressed political support to any Turkish party or politician. However, amid an outbreak of political crysis and massive protests, caused by incarceration of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu allegedly initiated by the president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Abdullah Gül expressed his support to the former, stating: "Let us remember how the public conscience did not accept the injustices that were once committed against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and me. Such mistakes should not be made against Ekrem Imamoglu, who was elected mayor by the people."{{Cite web |date=2025-03-22 |title=Abdullah Gül uzun süren sessizliğini Ekrem İmamoğlu için bozdu |url=https://www.haberler.com/politika/abdullah-gul-uzun-suren-sessizligini-ekrem-18466269-haberi/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Haberler |language=tr}}

Statements on the Middle East

After the Israeli interdiction on the MV Mavi Marmara in 2010, when crewmebers attacked an Israeli naval boarding party, he advocated the complete ending of diplomatic relations with Israel, stating that "Israel will turn into a complete apartheid regime in the next 50 years if it does not allow for the establishment of an independent and proud Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem. That is why we are exerting efforts to achieve a fair peace with a strategic point of view, which is to Israel's own interests."

On 31 December 2012, he stated with respect to the Arab spring and democratization of the Arab world: "But democracy is not only about elections. The task of creating essential democratic institutions – the rule of law, habits of accountability, gender equality, and freedom of expression and faith – still awaits these countries".[http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/europe-and-the-middle-east-in-2013-by-abdullah-gul "Europe and the Middle East in 2013"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106092036/http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/europe-and-the-middle-east-in-2013-by-abdullah-gul |date=6 January 2013 }}, project-syndicate.org; accessed 15 February 2015.[http://www.tccb.gov.tr/haberler/170/84887/cumhurbaskani-gulun-project-syndicate-makalesi-turkiyenin-yakin-cevresi-siyaset-gundeminin-ust-siras.html Profile] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224203625/http://www.tccb.gov.tr/haberler/170/84887/cumhurbaskani-gulun-project-syndicate-makalesi-turkiyenin-yakin-cevresi-siyaset-gundeminin-ust-siras.html |date=24 February 2013 }}, tccb.gov.tr; accessed 15 February 2015.{{in lang|tr}}

History of titles

1949–1983: Abdullah Gül
1983–1991: Dr. Abdullah Gül
1991–1996: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdullah Gül, MP
1996–1997: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdullah Gül, Minister of State of Turkey
2002: His Excellency Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister of Turkey
2002–2007: His Excellency Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdullah Gül, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey
2007–2014: His Excellency Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdullah Gül, President of the Republic of Turkey{{Cite web|url=http://www.tccb.gov.tr/pages/president/|title=T.C. CUMHURBAŞKANLIĞI : Abdullah Gül|publisher=Tccb.gov.tr|access-date=7 January 2011|archive-date=5 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605161801/http://www.tccb.gov.tr/pages/president/|url-status=dead}}

Honors and medals

=National honors=

class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 90%;"

!class="unsortable"| Ribbon bar

! Award or decoration

! Country

! Date

! Place

! class="unsortable"| Note

! class="unsortable"| Ref.

| Medal of Honor of the Republic of Turkey

| {{flagu|Turkey}}

| align=center| {{Ntsh|20140828}} 28 August 2014

| Ankara

|{{cite web|url=http://www.tccb.gov.tr/haberler/170/90829/turkiyenin-ilk-secilmis-cumhurbaskani.html|title=Türkiye'nin İlk Seçilmiş Cumhurbaşkanı|language=tr|publisher=Presidency of Republic of Turkey|date=28 August 2014|access-date=13 September 2014|archive-date=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913173719/http://www.tccb.gov.tr/haberler/170/90829/turkiyenin-ilk-secilmis-cumhurbaskani.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.tccb.gov.tr/images/photoalbum/2014-haber/2014-08-28-devirteslim-40-nisantoreni.jpg |title=Photo |access-date=13 September 2014 |archive-date=13 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913172614/http://www.tccb.gov.tr/images/photoalbum/2014-haber/2014-08-28-devirteslim-40-nisantoreni.jpg |url-status=live }}

=Foreign honors=