Our Honorary President

Emine Erdoğan was born on February 16, 1955 in Istanbul as the fifth and only daughter of Cemal and Hayriye Gülbaran. Originally from Siirt, Emine Erdoğan studied at the Istanbul Mithat Paşa Girls' Vocational Institute and has been actively involved in social activities since her youth. She was among the founding members of the 'Idealist Women's Association', of which she was the mother, and closely followed the activities of the National Turkish Student Union and the Ladies' Science and Culture Association of the period. With the contribution of the writer Şule Yüksel Şenler, she made important decisions in her life and devoted herself to social work in the field of ideas and action.

During this process, she met Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and married him on July 4, 1978. She was one of the most important leaders in Turkish political history, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's greatest supporter in his political struggle

When Recep Tayyip Erdoğan became the Istanbul Provincial Chairman of the Welfare Party, Emine Erdoğan served as a founding board member of the Provincial Women's Branch and pioneered a groundbreaking process in women's participation in politics in Turkey. She initiated the women's movement that greatly contributed to the Welfare Party's election success, and went door to door with women who were devoted to the party when necessary.

After her husband Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was elected as the Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, she took part in various social responsibility projects. She contributed to the formation of an aid corridor in social solidarity between different segments by starting the ‘iftar tables where the rich and the poor come together’ initiative, which still continues in AK Party municipalities.

Emine Erdoğan has expressed at every opportunity that she attaches importance to European Union membership so that Turkey can make rapid structural reforms in many areas. On the other hand, she has listened to the voices rising from different geographies of the world, has been especially on the side of people struggling with oppression and poverty, and has strongly opposed human rights violations. She has not remained silent against human tragedies experienced in regions such as Gaza, Myanmar and Pakistan, and has organized international organizations. In 2009, she brought together the spouses of the leaders of the Arab world and Western countries against the attacks on Gaza and called on the entire world to “stop the war.” In 2010, she went to the region after the flood disaster in Pakistan and invited the international community to mobilize aid. In 2012, she personally witnessed the humanitarian tragedy experienced in Myanmar, despite warnings of life-threatening risks, and delivered humanitarian aid to the region. She has brought the issue to the world’s agenda by expressing the feelings of millions of mothers and has been instrumental in the initiation of major aid campaigns. In 2017, she visited the Rohingya Muslims who had fled the oppression in Myanmar and taken refuge in the Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Bangladesh, and called for awareness in the international community.

Emine Erdoğan, the wife of the first elected President of the Republic of Turkey, continues to exchange ideas with the First Ladies of different countries within the framework of various social responsibility projects during her trips abroad as the ‘First Lady’ of the Republic of Turkey. She also contributes to the promotion of Turkey by inviting them to Turkey when necessary.

As a result of her visits to African countries with the President, she pioneered a study that will ensure that the handicrafts of African women are offered for sale within a fair market understanding and that the income returns to African women. The African Handicrafts and Culture House, established in the historical Hamamönü district of Ankara with the coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, continues its activities. Within the scope of these activities, she pioneered the publication of the books ‘African Food’ and ‘African Proverbs’ together with the spouses of the ambassadors of African countries in Turkey.

Emine Erdoğan has patronized the Zero Waste and Ancestral Seed projects within the framework of environmental issues and the protection of natural resources. The Zero Waste project, which was launched in 2017, has been transformed into a national mobilization by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, and significant gains have been made in the field of environment and circular economy. The ‘Zero Waste Blue’ mobilization has provided significant awareness for the purification of seas and oceans from waste, especially plastic.

Emine Erdoğan, who has four children, two girls and two boys, has always played active roles in social and political life, and continued her activities by increasing them during the years she was the wife of the Prime Minister. She has extended a helping hand to thousands of people by reflecting the philanthropic heritage she received from her family throughout her life. In 2005, she pioneered the establishment of the ‘Social Development Center’ (TOGEM) and supported the implementation of important activities related to the education of children and women.

Emine Erdoğan launched a major mobilization nationwide with the Ministry of National Education against the problem of girls not being educated, which is a bleeding wound in certain regions of Turkey. With the ‘Let’s Go to School Girls’ campaign, she has helped nearly 300 thousand girls learn how to read and write and go to school.

This effort in education has gained a new dimension with the ‘Mother-Girl School’ campaign, and with this work, which she herself gave the name to, she has produced solutions to the problems of mothers who have not had the opportunity to learn how to read and write.

Emine Erdoğan has also fought against violence against children and their forced labor; she has supported various campaigns such as ‘7 is Too Late’ that emphasize the importance of early childhood education. She has expanded the scope of the campaigns by inviting the First Ladies of different countries to such efforts. Emine Erdoğan has also made great contributions to the ‘Sister Family Project’, which has received great support and attention in Turkey.

She has patronized the ‘Voluntary Ambassadors in Community Development’ project prepared by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services in order to increase awareness of volunteering in society and ensure harmony in public services. Together with the wives of governors from 81 provinces of Turkey, she has led a volunteer mobilization to improve the quality of life of groups such as women, the elderly, children, the disabled, families of veterans and martyrs, the poor and substance addicts. The project, which received the ‘Golden Compass’ award, which is considered the Oscar of the public relations field in the best public project category, has attracted great attention from the UN as a project that sets an example for other countries. The project has been carried out under the patronage of Emine Erdoğan since 2012. She supported the expansion of the ‘Foster Family’ services carried out within the scope of the Voluntary Ambassadors project within the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services.

She supported the organization of international conferences with the spouses of regional country leaders on the theme of ‘Women in Business Life’ so that women can take a more active role in business life. Her efforts to ensure that women take a greater role in politics as well as the business world in Turkey were not limited to party activities, but encouraged women to participate in politics in the country’s public opinion.

Emine Erdoğan also supported campaigns against drugs to increase social sensitivity and to carry out a more effective fight against substance addiction, which is one of the important social problems.

She patronized the campaigns of civil society organizations operating in various fields from education to health, from women’s issues to the problems of the disabled, and contributed to their voices being heard.

In the field of healthy and natural living, she supported policies to encourage natural birth and reduce cesarean section rates to reasonable levels. She supported studies to gain scientific foundations for the field of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, which has been filtered through a thousand years of tradition and has been encouraged by the World Health Organization in recent years. She patronized the Traditional and Complementary Medicine Congresses organized by the Ministry of Health.

Emine Erdoğan has received international awards in various fields due to her pioneering work. Among these is the ‘Humanitarian Service Appreciation Award’ within the framework of the Global Donors Forum event organized by the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists based in Chicago in 2018 for her pioneering efforts in the field of humanitarian aid. In the same year, Erdoğan was presented with the ‘Leadership in Humanity Aid’ special award by the Global Hope Coalition in the USA.

Emine Erdoğan enjoys reading books, researching world cuisines and listening to different world music in the time she has left from her active social life both at home and abroad.