Reha Denemeç (born 1961 in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

) is a

senior advisor In some countries, a senior advisor (also spelt senior adviser, especially in the UK) is an appointed position by the Head of State to advise on the highest levels of national and government policy. Sometimes a junior position to this is called a N ...

to the

President of the Republic of Turkey The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national gove ...

, co-founder of the ruling

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 De ...

(AK Party), and an honorary associate of the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up ...

Education and military service

Denemeç graduated from the

Middle East Technical University Middle East Technical University (commonly referred to as METU; in Turkish, ''Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi'', ODTÜ) is a public technical university located in Ankara, Turkey. The university emphasizes research and education in engineering a ...

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, mak ...

with a B.S. in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...

. Later, he received his M.A. in economics from the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 m ...

. He also completed programs titled "Managing and Shaping Change in the Information Age" and "Innovation for Economic Development" at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public a ...

. Denemeç served as a commando second lieutenant in the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Ch ...

Career

Denemeç began his career in the public sector in the late 1980s as the executive assistant to the undersecretary of Turkey's

State Planning Organization State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

(now Ministry of Development). He was later appointed as the executive assistant and advisor to the Minister of State, in charge of the treasury, foreign trade, planning, privatization and public banks in 1987. After receiving his M.A. degree, he returned to State Planning Organization and worked as an expert at the Directorate of Economic Models and Strategic Research. In 1993, he began advising the founder and chairman of Yeni Parti (New Party). The party was established to carry out the "second transformation program" of former President

Turgut Özal Halil Turgut Özal (; 13 October 192717 April 1993) was a Turkish politician, who served as the 8th President of Turkey from 1989 to 1993. He previously served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey from 1983 to 1989 as the leader of the Mothe ...

, who had aimed to establish an executive presidency with constitutional powers. In 1997, Denemeç was appointed deputy secretary-general of the State Planning Organization. Shortly thereafter, he became the acting secretary-general of the organization. He served on the technical board of Turkish Standards Institution. In the formative period of

, leading up to its first national election landslide victory in 2002, Denemeç was co-founder of the party and advisor to the party chairman,

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 t ...

, who would later become the President of the Republic of Turkey. He served on the party's board from 2001–2015, and as its vice chairman in charge of research and development for ten years. He was elected from Ankara as a member of the parliament for three consecutive terms, from 2002–2015, and was a member of Democracy Committee in the

Turkish Parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives ...

. He was also a member of the International Board of

Parliamentarians for Global Action Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) is a non-profit, non-partisan international network of committed legislators, that informs and mobilizes parliamentarians in all regions of the world to advocate for human rights and the rule of law, democr ...

, a non-profit, non-partisan international network of elected legislators.

Private sector

He served on the board of Başak Insurance, and was the chairman of Ataköy Otelcilik, the entity that owns the

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a divisio ...

and

Crowne Plaza Crowne Plaza is a British multinational chain of full service, upscale hotels headquartered in the United Kingdom. It caters to business travelers and the meetings and conventions market. It forms part of the InterContinental Hotels Group family ...

hotels in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. He also worked as a senior executive of an energy group of conglomerate with wide-ranging interests throughout Central Asia.

Council of Europe

From 2013 to 2015, he was the Chairman of the Turkish Delegation and Vice President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg. He is an honorary associate of PACE. He was also awarded the pro merito medal in appreciation of his services for PACE.

Family

Denemeç is married with two children.

References

External links

Justice and Development Party

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denemec, Reha Justice and Development Party (Turkey) politicians Living people University of Delaware alumni 1961 births Members of the 24th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 23rd Parliament of Turkey Members of the 22nd Parliament of Turkey Place of birth missing (living people)