Recep Akdağ (born 8 May 1960) is a Turkish physician and politician. He is a member of parliament for the province of

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...

from the

Justice and Development Party Justice and Development Party may refer to several political parties, the best-known ones being: * Justice and Development Party (Morocco) * Justice and Development Party (Turkey) Justice and Development Party may also refer to: * Justice and Dev ...

. He currently serves as the

Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey The Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey is the abolished official deputy of the head of government of Turkey. Conventionally all of the junior partners in a coalition get one deputy, and they are ranked according to the size of their respective part ...

since 19 July 2017, and served as

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

from 2016 to 2017, having previously served between 2002 and 2013.

Life and career

Akdağ was born on 8 May 1960 in

, the son of Yahya Akdağ and his wife Zekiye. He completed his primary and secondary education in Erzurum, and his high school education in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

at Atatürk High School. He graduated from Faculty of Medicine at

Atatürk University Atatürk University ( tr, Atatürk Üniversitesi) is a land-grant university established in 1957 in Erzurum, Turkey. The university consists of 23 faculties, 18 colleges, 8 institutes and 30 research centers. Atatürk University's main campus i ...

in 1984, becoming a medical doctor and going on to an academic career in the field of medicine. He performed his obligatory service as a practitioner in

Karabük Karabük is a town and the capital district of Karabük Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. According to the 2009 census, population of the city is 108 167. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at an elevation of . Karabük ...

for two years. In 1990, Akdağ became Child Health and Diseases Specialist in the Medical Faculty of the Atatürk University. In September 1991, Akdağ commenced studies on

molecular biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

techniques and especially on

polymerase chain reaction The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to rapidly make millions to billions of copies (complete or partial) of a specific DNA sample, allowing scientists to take a very small sample of DNA and amplify it (or a part of it) t ...

(PCR) at

King's College London School of Medicine GKT School of Medical Education (abbreviated: GKT) is the medical school of King's College London. The school has campuses at three institutions, Guy's Hospital (Southwark), King's College Hospital (Denmark Hill) and St Thomas' Hospital (Lambeth ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. He completed his studies in November 1992, and returned to Turkey. He initiated the studies of "Diagnosis of Tuberculosis with PCR through making contributions to the establishment of the first Molecular DNA laboratory in the

Eastern Anatolia Region The Eastern Anatolia Region ('' tr, Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi'') is a geographical region of Turkey. The most populous province in the region is Van Province. Other populous provinces are Malatya, Erzurum and Elazığ. It is bordered by the Black ...

through a research project" in line with these studies. In 1992, he became an assistant professor in the Child Health and Diseases Main Branch of the Medical Faculty of Atatürk University. Akdağ received the title of associate professor in 1994, and the title of professor in 1999. He completed the "Gene Therapy" course successfully held at the

Karolinska Institutet The Karolinska Institute (KI; sv, Karolinska Institutet; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden. The Karolinska Institute is consiste ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

in 1998. Between 1994 and 1998, he worked as Deputy Chief Doctor, Procurement Commission Head and Deputy Editor of the Medical Bulletin in the Research Hospital of the Medical Faculty of Atatürk University. He was the Deputy Head of the Atatürk University's Biotechnological Implementation and Research Center between 1997-2000, a member of the Medical Faculty of Atatürk University-

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

Cooperation Committee between 1998-2000, a member of the Transfusion Committee between 1998-2002, a member of the Commission of Pharmaceuticals, a member of the Ethical Committee and head of the Pharmaceuticals Research Committee. He is a founding member and board member of the Erzurum Branch of the National Pediatrics Association, a member of the Turkish Pediatric Hematology Association and a member of the Turkish Hematology Association. He has about 100 scientific articles and announcements. About 20 of these are of international character. The number of attributions included in

Citation Index A citation index is a kind of bibliographic index, an index of citations between publications, allowing the user to easily establish which later documents cite which earlier documents. A form of citation index is first found in 12th-century Hebr ...

is 16. He gave speeches and took part as chairman in various meetings and symposia. He won the Prize of the Article of the Year from the Chamber of Doctors of İstanbul in 1996. Recep Akdağ worked as a lecturer in pediatrics and deputy chief physician of Atatürk University's Research Hospital before being elected to parliament representing Erzurum on 3 November 2002. On 18 November 2002, Akdağ was appointed Minister of Health. As well as the day-to-day running of the public health system, he has had to deal with a number of issues including: * major reforms of the public health system to cut bureaucracy and increase efficiency, for example allowing public health patients to be treated privately at the state's expense, thus relieving the strain on state hospitals. * bringing the cost of pharmaceuticals in Turkey down to EU norms * the

bird flu "Bird Flu" is an urumee melam-dance song by recording artist M.I.A. on her second studio album '' Kala'' (2007). It was released as a digital download in 2006 through XL Recordings under exclusive license to Interscope Records in the US. Cr ...

scare of 2006 * calls for a government initiative on

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

and

family planning Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marita ...

to bring average family size down to EU norms. This plan has been shelved, and as the minister has six children himself perhaps this is not surprising. On 24 January 2013, he was replaced by

Mehmet Müezzinoğlu Mehmet Müezzinoğlu (born January 9, 1955) is a Turkish physician and politician, who served as the Minister of Labour and Social Security between 2016 and 2017, and the Minister of Health from 2013 to 2016. Early years He was born on January ...

at his post in the cabinet.

Family life

Akdağ is married, has six children and is one of the cabinet ministers. He speaks English.Turkish Grand National Assembly bio (Turkish)
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akdag, Recep 1960 births Living people Alumni of King's College London Deputies of Erzurum People from Erzurum Atatürk University alumni Atatürk University faculty Turkish pediatricians Justice and Development Party (Turkey) politicians Health ministers of Turkey Members of the 24th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 23rd Parliament of Turkey Members of the 22nd Parliament of Turkey Members of the 26th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 65th government of Turkey Members of the 60th government of Turkey Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz