Bekir Pakdemirli (born 1973) is a Turkish

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

and former Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

Early years

Bekir Pakdemirli was born at

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

, Turkey in 1973. His father Ekrem Pakdemirli was a politician, who briefly served as a

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

in 1991. He studied Business administration at

Bilkent University Bilkent University () is a private non-profit research university located in Ankara, Turkey. It was founded by İhsan Doğramacı, the first president of the Council of Higher Education and the head of the prominent Doğramacı family, with th ...

. After receiving his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

, he continued his education at

Başkent University Başkent University () is a private university in Ankara, Turkey. The university was founded on 13 January 1994 by Professor Dr. Mehmet Haberal. The university center is located in Ankara and also has medical and research centers and dialysis ...

graduating with a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

title. Later, he earned a

doctoral degree A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from Celal Bayar University.

Career

After completion of his education, Pakdemirli worked as an entrepreneur in the fields of food, agriculture, animal husbandry, technology and automotive. He co-founded and managed various companies. He served as general manager of a major company and a publicly-held food corporation. Following his senior management position in an international food company, he also worked as a consultant in the same company. He was a board member at the mobile network operator

Turkcell Turkcell İletişim Hizmetleri A.Ş. (''lit. Turkcell Communication Services'') (, ) is the leading mobile phone operator of Turkey, based in Istanbul. The company has 39.3 million subscribers as of September 2021. In 2015, the company's number ...

, the discount store chain BİM and the bank Albaraka Türk. Between 2018 and 2022, Pakdemirli served as minister of Agriculture and Forestry in the Fourth cabinet of Erdoğan.

Private life

In his private life, Pakdemirli was active in social responsibility projects holding posts in a number of associations and foundations. He owns licenses of sea captain, aprivate aviation pilot and amateur radio operator.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakdemirli, Bekir Living people 1973 births Politicians from İzmir Bilkent University alumni Başkent University alumni Manisa Celal Bayar University alumni 21st-century Turkish businesspeople Government ministers of Turkey Ministers of agriculture and forestry of Turkey Members of the 66th government of Turkey