Bülent Arınç

Bülent Arınç (; born 25 May 1948) is a conservative Turkish politician. He served as the 22nd Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey from 2002 to 2007 and as a Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey between 2009 and 2015. He also co-founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2001.

Early life and education He was born on May 25, 1948, in Bursa, Turkey. After finishing high school in Manisa, Bülent Arınç attended University of Ankara, earning a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1970. and is fluent in Cretan Greek. He was appointed speaker of his party's group in the parliament. On May 1, 2009, he was appointed as State Minister Responsible for Foundations and the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish: Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu) and Deputy Prime Minister in the second cabinet of Erdoğan.

Views In 2012, Arınç opposed education in the Kurdish language as he didn't deem it a "language of civilization".

In 2013, Arınç referred to the Hagia Sophia as a mosque, which angered the Greek government. He expressed the wish to see it reconverted from a museum into a functioning mosque.

In 2014, Arınç stated women should not laugh out loud to him in public during a speech about "moral corruption" at an Eid al-Fitr holiday gathering: "She will not laugh in public to Mr. Arinc. She will not be inviting in her attitudes and will protect her chasteness." When asked to explain his comments, he suggested that women "leave their husbands at home, and go to vacation with their lovers" and that they "can't wait to climb poles when they see someone", referring to women who pole dance while on holiday. Both comments were widely ridiculed in social media.

In November 2020, Arınç resigned as a member of the High Advisory Board of the Turkish presidency, demanding political reforms in the. He referred to the juridical situation in Turkey and advocated for the release of the philanthropist Osman Kavala and the Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Then in 2020 he encouraged the Turkish society to read the book Devran of Demirtaş, mentioning that the Kurds are the oppressed in Turkey.