Bekir Pakdemirli

Bekir Pakdemirli
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry
In office 10 July 2018 – 4 March 2022
President	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Preceded by	Veysel Eroğlu
Succeeded by	Vahit Kirişci
Personal details
Born	(1973-11-10) November 10, 1973 (age 51) İzmir, Turkey
Relations	Ekrem Pakdemirli (father)
Alma mater	Bilkent University, Başkent University, Celal Bayar University

Bekir Pakdemirli (born 1973) is a Turkish businessman and former Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

Bekir Pakdemirli was born at İzmir, Turkey in 1973. His father Ekrem Pakdemirli was a politician, who briefly served as a Deputy Prime Minister in 1991. He studied Business administration at Bilkent University. After receiving his bachelor's degree, he continued his education at Başkent University graduating with a Master of Business Administration title. Later, he earned a doctoral degree from Celal Bayar University.^[1][2]

After completion of his education, Pakdemirli worked as an entrepreneur in the fields of food, agriculture, animal husbandry, technology and automotive. He co-founded and managed various companies. He served as general manager of a major company and a publicly-held food corporation. Following his senior management position in an international food company, he also worked as a consultant in the same company. He was a board member at the mobile network operator Turkcell, the discount store chain BİM and the bank Albaraka Türk.^[1][2]

Between 2018 and 2022, Pakdemirli served as minister of Agriculture and Forestry in the Fourth cabinet of Erdoğan.^[2]

In his private life, Pakdemirli was active in social responsibility projects holding posts in a number of associations and foundations. He owns licenses of sea captain, aprivate aviation pilot and amateur radio operator.^[1][2]