Emine Erdoğan

Emine Erdoğan (; born 16 February 1955) is the current first lady of Turkey as the wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Early and personal life Early life Emine Erdoğan was born as Cemal and Hayriye Gülbaran’s fifth child and only daughter in Üsküdar, Istanbul. Her family is originally from Siirt and is of Arab origin.

She was educated at Istanbul Mithatpaşa Vocational Evening School for Girls. She did not graduate, however. She 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.

Personal life Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Emine Gülbaran married on 4 July 1978. The couple has four children: Ahmet Burak, Necmettin Bilal, Esra, and Sümeyye.

Political career

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 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 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.

Emine 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

Emine Erdoğan visiting the Märcani Mosque in Kazan, Tatarstan, October 2024. With her is the Mufti of Tatarstan, Kamil Səmiğullin. "The Voluntary Envoys in Social Development Project" , implemented by the Ministry of Family and Social Policies and supported by Emine Erdoğan, is a social responsibility project focused on raising awareness about and promoting "volunteering", and tending to the human resource needs that will contribute to social development. The venture, running since 2012, has subfields such as “Protective Family Service” and “Vocational Training for Women”.

Come On Girls, Let's Go To School 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. "Come on Girls, Let's Go to School" is a project carried out in coordination with the Ministry of National Education and UNICEF with support and commitments of relevant public institutions, NGOs and local administrations. The goal of the project is 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 Erdoğan continued her efforts in education with "Mothers and Daughters at School" campaign , which she named herself. The campaign, launched by the Ministry of National Education, was initiated in 2008. The target audience of the project are young girls and women who are in poverty from a socio-economic perspective, who have not had access to educational opportunities, and are over the compulsory education age.

I Protect My Future "I Protect My Future" project , started with the cooperation of the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, aims to raise awareness about the conservation of earth and water resources among the new generations. The project which has been launched in 30 cities aims to make children familiar with the earth, seed and plants. Erdoğan is the first chair of the United Nations Advisory Board of Eminent Persons on Zero Waste, which shares good practices internationally, including reducing methane emissions from waste management.

Luxury items controversy In 2019, some photos of her appeared holding a Hermès handbag, amid calls for French goods boycott. She filed suit against the journalist Ekşi Sözlük for posting negative comments about her related to the luxury bag.

In June 2020, a court ordered to block access to the Sözlük webpages that focus on Emine Erdoğan wearing an Hermès handbag. In the same month, Evrensel journalist Ender İmrek had to appear in court to face an accusation for not reporting positively on her while criticizing her for wearing a Hermès bag worth $50,000.

In September 2021, she also drew attention for wearing a Chopard brand watch that starts at $35,000.

Honours and accolades

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.