Abdullah Gul’s Rise and Fall in Turkish Politics

Origins and Rise in Turkish Politics

Abdullah Gul’s path into national politics began with a student movement. Advocating staunch Islamist political views during his university years, Gul became a Member of Parliament for Kayseri in 1991. He was re-elected in 1995, 1999, 2002, and 2007, building a track record of voter support in his home province. Initially a member of the Islamist Welfare Party, Gul 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, Gul joined fellow party member Recep Tayyip Erdogan in advocating the need for reform and moderation. He ran against serving leader Recai Kutan for the Virtue Party leadership at a time when Erdogan was banned from holding political office. As the candidate for the modernist camp, he came second with 521 votes while Kutan won 633. This early contest foreshadowed a recurring theme in his career: navigating between conservative roots and the demands of a modernizing state.

Building the AKP Empire and Presidential Term

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) was born from the remnants of the Virtue Party. Gul co-founded the moderate Justice and Development Party (AKP) with Erdogan in 2001 after the Virtue Party was shut down in the same year, while hardline conservative members founded the Felicity Party instead. Gul became prime minister after the AKP won a landslide victory in the 2002 general election while Erdogan was still banned from office. His government removed Erdogan’s political ban by March 2003, after which Erdogan became an MP for Siirt in a by-election and took over as prime minister. Gul subsequently served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister until 2007.

He went on to win the presidency in 2007, becoming Turkey’s first president with a background in Islamic politics. His rise to the presidency was not without friction; his bid drew strong and highly vocal opposition from ardent supporters of secularism and was initially blocked by the Constitutional Court due to concerns over his Islamist political background. He was eventually elected after the 2007 snap general election. As president, Gul came under criticism for giving assent to controversial laws which the political opposition regarded as unconstitutional. In June 2013, he signed a bill restricting alcohol consumption into law despite initially indicating a possible veto, a move seen as a contributing factor to sparking the Gezi Park protests. Other controversies included a law tightening internet regulation in 2013 and a law increasing political control over the judiciary in 2014 designed to protect then Prime Minister Erdogan and others from corruption charges.

Turning Point: End of Presidency and Transition

Gul’s tenure as president ended in 2014. He did not seek a second term, marking the conclusion of a political arc that had taken him from parliamentarian to head of state. His successor, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, transitioned the executive presidency system, reshaping the office Gul had occupied. The transition period saw Gul step back from the day-to-day apparatus of government, though he remained a figure of note in Turkish public life.

Fall from Active Politics: Retirement and Current Status
Since leaving the presidency, Gul has withdrawn from active party politics. He is currently a member of the Advisory Panel for the President of the Islamic Development Bank. This role represents his current public engagement, moving him from the center of Turkish governance to an advisory capacity within an international financial institution. His retirement from the presidency in 2014 effectively ended his direct involvement in the Turkish political arena, leaving behind a legacy defined by his unique position as a bridge between Islamist politics and the secular republic.

Legacy and Historical Assessment

Gul’s legacy is defined by his role in the AKP’s founding and his ascent to the presidency, the highest office held by someone with an Islamic political pedigree in a predominantly secular nation. He served as president from 2007 to 2014, a period marked by efforts to maintain stability while navigating tensions between religious conservatism and the Turkish constitution. His time as prime minister, though brief at four months, was pivotal in clearing the path for Erdogan’s leadership. Historically, he is assessed as a reformist insider who helped steer his party from a banned Islamist movement into a governing force, and later as a president who faced criticism for his handling of laws affecting civil liberties.

Where Things Stand Now: Advisory Role

Today, Gul’s public profile is tied to the Islamic Development Bank. According to the record, he is a member of the Advisory Panel for the President of the Islamic Development Bank. This appointment places him within a network of economic and financial cooperation across the Muslim world, a final chapter in a career that began on the streets of Kayseri and moved through the highest echelons of Turkish power.