Fikri Işık MP (born 13 September 1965) is a Turkish politician who served as the last

Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey The deputy prime minister of Turkey was official deputy of the prime minister of Turkey. Conventionally all of the junior partners in a coalition got one deputy, and they were ranked according to the size of their respective parties. See also ...

from 2017 to 2018. Previously, he served as Minister of Science, Industry and Technology from 2013 to 2016 and Minister of National Defense from 2016 to 2017. He is a Member of Parliament representing the

Kocaeli Province Kocaeli Province (, ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey and one of only three not to have the same official name as its capital, İzmit, which is thus also sometim ...

on behalf of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), from 2007 to 2023. Before politics, Işık was an educator.

Early life

Fikri Işık was born on 13 September 1965 to Tevfik and Mecbure Işık in the village of Babacan in Şiran district of

Gümüşhane Province Gümüşhane Province ( Pontic Greek, Romeika: Αργυρούπολη) is a Provinces of Turkey, province in northern Turkey, bordering Bayburt Province, Bayburt to the east, Trabzon Province, Trabzon to the north, Giresun Province, Giresun and E ...

, Turkey. He studied Mathematics Education at the

Middle East Technical University Middle East Technical University (commonly referred to as METU; in Turkish language, Turkish, ''Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi'', ODTÜ) is a prestigious public university, public Institute of technology, technical university located in Ankara, ...

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

Career

Profession

Işık worked as a mathematics and English language teacher in private schools at

İzmit İzmit () is a municipality and the capital Districts of Turkey, district of Kocaeli Province, Turkey. Its area is 480 km2, and its population is 376,056 (2022). The capital of Kocaeli Province, it is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea ...

and

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. He served also as manager in the food industry.

Politics

Fikri Işık entered politics on 20 October 2001 through his founding membership of the Justice and Development Party's

organization. He was elected its chairman on 22 June 2003, serving four years at this post. In 2007, he left his chair at the regional level to run for a seat in the parliament. Işık was elected into the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by ...

in the 2007 general election as an MP from Kocaeli Province. He was re-elected a second time into the parliament in the 2011 general election. Between 2007 and 2013, he was responsible in the party headquarters for the coordination of the part's regional organizations in 47 provinces across the country. On 31 January 2013, Işık became chairman of the parliamentary National Education, Youth and Sports Commission. On 26 December 2013, Fikri Işık assumed office as the Minister of Science, Industry and Technology, succeeding Nihat Ergün during Erdoğan's cabinet reshuffle with ten new names that was announced the day before, on 25 December, following the

2013 corruption scandal in Turkey The 2013 corruption scandal in Turkey or 17–25 December Corruption and Bribery Operation was a criminal investigation that involved several key people in the Turkish government. All of the 52 people detained on 17 December were connected in v ...

Personal life

Fikri Işık is married and has four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isik, Fikri 1965 births People from Şiran Middle East Technical University alumni Turkish schoolteachers Justice and Development Party (Turkey) politicians Deputies of Kocaeli Government ministers of Turkey Living people Members of the 26th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 25th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 24th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 23rd Parliament of Turkey Members of the 63rd government of Turkey Members of the 64th government of Turkey Members of the 65th government of Turkey Ministers of national defence of Turkey Ministers of science industry and technology of Turkey