Recep Akdağ

Recep Akdağ
Health Minister
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 November 2002-
Preceded by	Osman Durmuş
Personal details
Born	May 8, 1960 (1960-05-08) Erzurum, Turkey
Political party	Justice and Development Party
Religion	Islam

Recep Akdağ is the minister of health of Turkey, a position he has held since 2002, and Member of Parliament for Erzurum.

Biography

Dr. Akdağ was born in Erzurum on 8 May, 1960. His father's name is Yahya and his mother's name is Zekiye. He completed his primary and secondary education in Erzurum and his high school education in Ankara at Atatürk High School. He graduated from Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University 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 for 2 years. In 1990, he became Child Health and Diseases Specialist in the Medical Faculty of the Atatürk University.

In September 1991 Dr. Akdağ commenced studies on Molecular Biology Techniques and especially on PCR at King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry in London. He completed those 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 Anatolian Region 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. He 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 in in Sweden 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 the Atatürk University. He was the Deputy Head of the Atatürk University Biotechnological Implementation and Research Center between 1997-2000, a member of the Medical Faculty of Atatürk University-Pittsburg University 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 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.

He 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, Dr. Akdağ was appointed as the Minister of Health for the Republic of Turkey. 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 scare of 2006
• calls for a government initiative on birth control and family planning 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.

“

The purpose and duty of Ministry of Health is to make health services available, efficient, qualified and sustainable in every corner of the country.

”

Akdağ is married, has six children and is one of the cabinet ministers whose wife wears a headscarf, seen by some secularists as a symbol of political Islam. He speaks English.