Emine Erdoğan

Emine Erdoğan (born Emine Gülbaran; 21 February 1955) is the current first lady of Turkey, as the wife of the 12th president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Early life

Emine Erdoğan was born as Cemal and Hayriye Gülbaran’s fifth child and only daughter in Üsküdar, Istanbul. She is originally from Siirt, and the youngest child of a family of five children. Her family comes from the south-eastern province of Siirt.

She was educated at Istanbul Mithatpaşa Vocational Institute for Girls and has been actively involved in social activities since her youth. Erdoğan was among the founding members of the “Idealist Women’s Association”, which she named herself. She closely followed the events organized by the National Turkish Student Union and the Ladies Foundation for Science and Culture. During this period, she met Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and married him.

Family

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Emine Gülbaran married on 4 February 1978. The couple has four children: Ahmet Burak, Necmettin Bilal, Esra, and Sümeyye, who married defense industrialist engineer Selçuk Bayraktar in May 2016.

Mrs. Erdoğan served as a founding member of the Provincial Women's Branch Administrative Board of the Welfare Party when Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was elected the Istanbul Provincial Head and she pioneered an era that paved the way for women's active participation in politics in Turkey. She launched a women's movement, which contributed to the success of the Refah Party in the 1994 elections.

After her husband Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was elected Mayor of Istanbul, she took part in various social responsibility projects. She contributed to the establishment of an aid corridor between different social groups by initiating the “iftar tables where the poor and the rich meet” tradition, which is still carried on by the mayoralties of Justice and Development Party.

Erdoğan led the foundation of the “Center for Social Development” (TOGEM) in 2005 and has supported projects concerning the education of women and children.

With the Ministry of National Education, Erdoğan launched a country-wide campaign to resolve the issue of the girls who were not allowed to go to school by their families. Around 300 thousand girls have been provided with education through the campaign “Come on Girls, Let’s Go to School”.

Erdoğan continued her efforts in education with “Mothers and Daughters at School” campaign, which she named herself. Through the campaign, she solved the problems of the mothers, who had not had the opportunity to learn to read and write. She has also supported the “Voluntary Envoys” project, developed by the Ministry of Family and Social Policies to promote volunteering in society and to harmonize public services. With the wives of the governors from all Turkish provinces, she has led a campaign to improve the living conditions of the women, the elderly, the veterans and families of the martyrs. The project, which was awarded the “Golden Compass”, the academy award of public relations, in the best public project category, has attracted interest among the projects cited by the United Nations. The project has continued under the auspices Mrs. Erdoğan since 2012.

After the attacks against Gaza in 2009, she hosted the wives of the Western and Arab leaders and called the whole world to “stop the war.” In 2012, Erdoğan personally went to Myanmar to observe the situation there despite the critical security threats and provided humanitarian aid to the region.

First Lady Erdoğan has played an active role in opposing child marriage, stating clearly that "Forced child marriage is clearly unacceptable under any conditions".

Projects under Emine Erdoğan’s aegis

Voluntary Envoys

“The Voluntary Envoys in Social Development Project” (Turkish: Gönül Elçileri), carried out by the Ministry of Family and Social Policies, is a social responsibility project aimed at raising awareness about and promoting “volunteering”, and addressing the human resource needs that will contribute to social development. The project, conducted since 2012, has subfields such as “Protective Family Service”, “Vocational Training for Women”.

Come On Girls, Let’s Go To School

“Come on Girls, Let’s Go to School” (Turkish: Haydi Kızlar Okula) is a project carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of National Education and UNICEF with participation and contributions of relevant public institutions, NGOs and local administrations. It aims to provide 100% schooling and gender equality in education for primary-school-age girls (6-14 years) who are out of the education system, who have left or are absent from school.

Mothers and Daughters at School

The "Mothers and Daughters at School Literacy Campaign" (Turkish: Ana-Kız Okuldayız), initiated by the Ministry of National Education, was launched in 2008. The target group of the campaign is young girls and women who are in poverty from the socio-economic point of view, who have not had access to educational opportunities, and are over compulsory education age.

7 Is Too Late

The “7 is too late” campaign (Turkish: 7 Çok Geç) is conducted by the Mother Child Education Foundation (AÇEV) with the aim of raising awareness and support on the importance of early childhood education, which children needs to receive between the ages of 0-6, and ensuring that every children in Turkey can benefit from pre-school education.

Prolific Forests

The “Prolific Forests” Project (Turkish: Bereket Ormanları), launched on the International Day of Forests, March 21, 2015 by the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs in cooperation with Voluntary Envoys with an event during which 100 thousand saplings were planted, aims to expand green areas in Turkey and to ensure effective utility of forests.

I Protect My Future

I Protect My Future project (Turkish: Geleceğimi Koruyorum), launched with the coordination of the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, is aimed at raising awareness about the protection of earth and water resources among the new generation. The aim of the project, which has been launched in 30 metropolises, is to make children familiar with earth, seed and plants.

African Handicrafts Market and Culture House

African Handicrafts Market and Culture House project (Turkish: Afrika El Sanatları Pazarı ve Kültür Evi) aims to contribute to the solution of African women’s problems related to education and healthcare through the profit-free marketing of products handmade by African women at true value. The project also has the aims of serving as a meeting point of African cultures and contributing to the deepening of Turkey-Africa relations.

Zero Waste

The “Zero Waste” Project (Turkish: Sıfır Atık), led by the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning, is aimed at the prevention of squandering, more efficient use of resources, reduction of waste amount, installation of an effective collection system, and waste recycling.

On 7 December 2010, Prime Minister of Pakistan Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani conferred the Pakistani Nishan-e-Pakistan on Emine Erdoğan, in recognition of her efforts for the flood-stricken people of Pakistan. In October 2010, Erdoğan visited Pakistan and the flood hit areas to witness the devastation caused by the floods and contributed significantly in the fund-raising campaign to help the country's flood victims.

On 16 February 2011, Emine Erdoğan was presented with the "Prix de la Fondation" by the Crans Montana Forum at a ceremony in Brussels.