Bülent Arınç

He was born on 25 May 1948 in Bursa, Turkey. After finishing high school in Manisa, Bülent Arınç attended University of Ankara, earning a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1970. After his graduation, he worked as a freelance lawyer in Manisa. He is of Grecophone Cretan Muslim heritage with his ancestors arriving to Turkey as Cretan refugees during the time of Sultan Abdul Hamid II and is fluent in Cretan Greek.

Already interested in politics during his university years, Bülent Arınç ran for the deputy of Manisa in the 1995 general elections, and entered the Turkish Grand National Assembly from the Welfare Party (Turkish: Refah Partisi). He became also a member of the board of his party, and served in the parliament’s justice commission.

Following the closing of the Welfare Party by the Constitutional Court of Turkey on February 15, 1998, he transferred to the Virtue Party (Turkish: Fazilet Partisi). Arınç was elected in the 1999 general elections as deputy of Manisa, this time from the Virtue Party. He became a member of the foreign affairs commission of the parliament.

The constitutional court closed the Virtue Party on June 22, 2001. Bülent Arınç, along with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, co-founded the Justice and Development Party (Turkish: Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) the same year on August 14. He was appointed speaker of his party’s group in the parliament.

Bülent Arınç was elected the third time deputy of Manisa in the general elections held on November 3, 2002. On November 19, 2002, he was elected Speaker of the Parliament. On May 1, 2009 he was appointed as State Minister Responsible for Foundations and the TRT and Deputy Prime Minister in the second cabinet of Erdoğan.

Arınç refers to the Hagia Sophia as a mosque, which has angered the Greek government. He wishes to see it reconverted from a museum into a functioning mosque.

In 2014, Arınç stated women should not laugh out loud to him in public during a speech about “moral corruption” at an Eid al-Fitr holiday gathering: “She will not laugh in public to Mr. Arinc. She will not be inviting in her attitudes and will protect her chasteness.” When asked to explain his comments, he suggested that women "leave their husbands at home, and go to vacation with their lovers" and that they "can't wait to climb poles when they see someone", referring to women who pole dance while on holiday. Both comments were widely ridiculed in social media.

Bülent Arınç is married with two children. His third child, a son, was killed in a traffic accident in 1997. Arınç is of Muslim Cretan heritage with his ancestors arriving to Turkey as Cretan refugees during the time of Sultan Abdul Hamid II and is fluent in Cretan Greek.