Binali Yıldırım was born in Erzincan Refahiye on December 21, 1955. He graduated from Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Naval Architecture and Marine Sciences and completed his post-graduate study in the same department. He worked as an assistant and research assistant at Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Naval Architecture and Marine Sciences. He completed his master's degree at the World Maritime University (WMU).
He worked as an engineer and manager at Camialtı Shipyard, one of Turkey's oldest shipyards. He also worked as the General Director of Istanbul Sea Bus Operations (IDO)
He was one of the founders of the Justice and Development Party. He served as the Minister of Transportation in the government terms of 58th, 59th, 60th, 61st and 64th. On May 24, 2016, Yıldırım founded the 65th Government and became the 27th Prime Minister.
Fluent in English and proficient in French, Binali Yıldırım is married and has three children.
Carreer and Politics
- Between 1978 and 1993, he worked as a director in various positions in the General Directorate of the Turkish Ship Industry and the Camialtı.
- Between 1994 and 2000, he served as the General Manager of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Istanbul Sea Buses Operations (IDO).
- In the general elections of November 3, 2002, Yıldırım entered parliament as Istanbul deputy of AK Party and served as the Minister of Transport in the 58th and 59th AK Party governments.
- In the general election of July 22, 2007, Yıldırım was elected as AK Party's Erzincan deputy and continued to serve as cabinet minister in the 60th AK Party government.
- In the general election of June 12, 2011, Yıldırım was elected as AK Party's İzmir deputy and continued to serve as cabinet minister in the 61st AK Party government.
- Having served for over 11 years consecutively, he became the longest serving Minister of Transport of the Republic of Turkey.
- Following the resignation of Ahmet Davutoglu on May 5, 2016, the Justice and Development Party's Central Decision Board (MKYK) announced on May 19, 2016 that he was nominated as the Chairman. At the 2nd Extraordinary Congress of the Justice and Development Party held on May 22, 2016, Binali Yıldırım was elected as the AKP's new chairman by being voted for by 1,405 out of 1,411 delegates (6 votes were invalid).
- By establishing the 65th Turkish Government on May 24, 2016, he became the 27th prime minister.
July 15 Process
FETÖ’s Coup Attempt
On the night of the July 15 coup attempt, as the bridges were being blocked and armored vehicles were taken to the roads, everyone was wondering what was going on. Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, who connected to NTV live broadcast that night, referred to the events as an "attempt." Prime Minister Yıldırım said, “In fact, we are considering this as a possibility of an attempt. Apparently, an illegal action of some individuals within the military without the chain of command is in question. My people should know that no activity that will damage the democracy will be allowed. The government of the Republic of Turkey is in charge with the will and the support of the nation. A resignation of the government will only be possible with the decision of the nation. Those who attempted this coup, those who performed such insane actions, will pay the price. We will never give such attempts a chance. They should know that we will never allow such madness.”
What did the Prime Minister go through on the night of July 15?
Binali Yildirim, who left the office in Dolmabahçe, Istanbul on July 15, at around 21:00, set off to Ankara by car. The prime minister, who survived the assassination attempt and reached Ankara, spent the night at the Kastamonu Governor's house.
On the night of July 23rd, Binali Yıldırım spoke, on the live joint broadcast conducted by ATV and A Haber, regarding what he had been through on the night of the coup attempt, and said, “Our work at Dolmabahçe office was finished at around 21:00 and I set off for Tuzla. Ten minutes after I passed the bridge, I found out that the bridge was blocked. My personal bodyguard and my friends told me about the news. A TV channel was arranged to make an announcement immediately. I took initiative and decided that it was an event conducted extraneous of the chain of command. We were going to pass Sabiha Gökçen, but decided against it because it was not safe. Tanks tried to stop us on the way. We escaped quickly. We got away. We left Gerede, went toward Samsun, to Ilgaz Tunnel, we stayed there in the tunnel. The tunnel we built became our shelter. The sun was up by then. There was a gendarmerie vehicle on either side of the tunnel. They started shooting at us when we approached. Responses were made. Our driver immediately switched to reverse gear. We got out of the shooting range. We came back to the center of Ilgaz through the side road and were escorted by the district governor.” Having spent the night in Kastamonu in a district governor’s house and following the news from there, Yıldırım arrived in Ankara after 12 hours.
First Announcement: Attempt of parallel structure
On the day of Saturday July 16th, gathering with Full General Hulusi Akar, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ and Minister of Internal Affairs Efkan Ala, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım spoke to the press in front of the Grand National Assembly. Saying, “I kiss the foreheads of all the citizens who stood up against this parallel terrorist organization’s gang, who ran to the squares with their flags,” Yıldırım noted that this attempt was conducted by a, “parallel terrorist structure within the Armed Forces.”
July 18th: Life returned to normal
Making statements regarding the agenda after the meeting of the council of ministers on Monday July 18th, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said, “Life is back to normal.” In his speech, Prime Minister Yıldırım said, “On Monday, they made propaganda stating that the economy will turn upside down. Our financing system is operating like clockwork as of today. Central Bank is at the ready to take any kind of precautions. Life is back to normal, this is the message the markets are giving us. The day has come to unite and move forward together. This is the day to protect democracy. Everyone has the right to comment on Turkey’s future. AK Party, CHP, MHP, HDP... All of our citizens have the right to comment.”
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım stated that he made over 600 phone calls spanning up to 11 hours on the night of the July 15 coup attempt.
Yıldırım spoke at democracy watches via video conference
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim gave a message of thanks to the democracy watches held throughout the country from the prime ministerial residence on the night of August 1. Prime Minister Yıldırım, addressing millions of citizens via video conference, said, "Turkey is a state of law, the law is functioning and it will surely deliver the answer they deserve. We will never show tolerance to these treacherous people. We will hold them accountable, not with a sense of revenge or a sense of mercy, but with a sense of justice. We value our army and our soldiers. We should distinguish between our army and our safe and glorious institutions from the traitors who are murderers who infiltrated the army and are members of FETÖ. Let us differentiate them from our soldiers who love their nation and flag. The army and police force is going to be improved with our reforms. I commemorate our martyrs, our heroes of democracy. Wİth the laws we brought about, we have taken the families of our martyrs and veterans under our protection."
