Abdullah Gul has
been the President of Turkey since 2007. A member of the country's
ruling Justice and Development Party, he has attracted criticism in
the secular society because his wife wears a headscarf. While
he gained notoriety as an Islamist, he has recently pursued more
moderate policies; as foreign minister, he spearheaded Turkey's bid
to join the European Union. Despite these reassurances, many
Turks were still uneasy when Gul became president of the staunchly
secular country.
As president, he
has supported the secular democracy, ensuring freedom for all while
trying to ease the controversial ban on women wearing headscarves in
public places. He made history when he traveled to Armenia in 2008,
the first Turkish president to do so since the Armenian Genocide
nearly a century before. He has tended to support the Arab Spring,
even inviting the Syrian opposition to convene a government on
Turkish soil.
For more information, see http://bbc.in/u6Svx1.
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