, Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

) is a Turkish

Turkish people

Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...

 politician. He has been the Minister of Culture and Tourism

Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Turkey)

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is a government ministry office of the Republic of Turkey, responsible for culture and tourism affairs in Turkey. As of 2008, it is headed by Ertuğrul Günay.- External links :***...

 since August 2007.

Biography

Ertuğrul Günay worked as a lawyer in his hometown after graduating 1969 from the Faculty of Law at Istanbul University

Istanbul University

Istanbul University is a Turkish university located in Istanbul. The main campus is adjacent to Beyazıt Square.- Synopsis :A madrasa, a religious school, was established sometime in the 15th century after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. An institution of higher education named the...

.

A member of parliament of the ruling Justice and Development Party (Turkey)

Justice and Development Party (Turkey)

The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...

, he was formerly Secretary General of the social-democrat opposition party, the CHP

Republican People's Party (Turkey)

The Republican People's Party is a centre-left Kemalist political party in Turkey. It is the oldest political party of Turkey and is currently Main Opposition in the Grand National Assembly. The Republican People's Party describes itself as "a modern social-democratic party, which is faithful to...

. At one point, he was campaigning to be party leader and mayor of Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

 until he was expelled in 2004, following clashes with the leader Deniz Baykal

Deniz Baykal

Deniz Baykal is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party .-Biography:...

. Along with Mehmet Bekaroğlu

Mehmet Bekaroğlu

Mehmet Bekaroğlu is a Turkish Human Rights Activist, a scientist, professor, a psychiatrist, a writer, and a politician. He was well known in the Turkish Parliament by his actions against tortures at jails. He took part in the Human Rights Commission in the parliament.- External links : *...

, he was seen as representing the left but with a background of respect for Islamic values. He entered parliament as a member of the AKP in 2007, the most prominent former member of CHP.

His published works include writings on Bosnia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

, a country he visited during the Yugoslav wars

Yugoslav wars

The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...

.

He is married to Gülten Günay, also a lawyer, with two children.

External links

• TBMM profile