Bülent Tüfenkci

Bülent Tüfenkci (born 1 January 1966) is a Turkish politician from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) who currently serves as the Minister of Customs and Trade since 24 November 2015 in the third government of Ahmet Davutoğlu. He is also a Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Malatya since 7 June 2015. His surname is sometimes spelt 'Tüfekçi', without an 'n'.

Bülent Tüfenkci was born in Yeşilyurt, Malatya Province on 1 January 1966. He completed his primary education there and graduated from Yeşilyurt Imam Hatip school, before going on to study at the Ankara University Faculty of Law. After graduating from university in 1984, Tüfenkci completed a masters degree, specialising in customs law.

Tüfenkci participated in the establishment of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Malatya branch, serving in numerous positions until 2011. He became the provincial President of the AKP's Malatya Branch in 2011, serving until 2015. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Malatya in the June 2015 general election and was re-elected in the November 2015 general election.

Minister of Customs and Trade

After the AKP won a parliamentary majority in the November 2015 election, Tüfenkci was appointed as the Minister of Customs and Trade by Prime Minister and AKP leader Ahmet Davutoğlu, who formed his third cabinet on 24 November 2015. His appointment was approved by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the same day. He succeeded Cenap Aşçı, who has served as Customs and Trade Minister in the interim election government between 28 August and 17 November 2015.