Alparslan Bayraktar

Alparslan Bayraktar (born 1975) is a Turkish academic, engineer, and politician. He has served as the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources since 2023, Prior to this role, he held several senior positions within the ministry, including Deputy Minister and Commissioner of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority.^[1]

Alparslan Bayraktar
Bayraktar in 2024
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 June 2023
President	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Preceded by	Fatih Dönmez
Personal details
Born	1975 (age 49–50) Kırıkhan, Hatay, Turkey
Political party	Justice and Development Party
Alma mater	Istanbul Technical University Tufts University Bilkent University Middle East Technical University

Since 2015, Bayraktar has been the chair of the World Energy Council Turkey and, since 2018, the Istanbul Center for Regulation.^[2][3]

Early life and education

Bayraktar was born on July 9, 1975, in Kırıkhan, Hatay Province, Turkey. His family was originally from Trabzon but later moved to Ankara, where he completed his education.

Bayraktar earned a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Istanbul Technical University and an M.A. in International Relations from Tufts University in Massachusetts.^[4] He also obtained an LL.M. in Law and Economics from Bilkent University in Ankara.^[5] Bayraktar received his Ph.D. in Energy, Environmental Economics, and Policy from Middle East Technical University (METU) in Turkey, focusing his research on "A Multidimensional Analysis of Turkish-German Low Carbon Energy Transitions."^[6]

Career

Academic career

Bayraktar has lectured at Bilkent University in Ankara for the Energy Economics, Policy, and Security (EEPS)^[7] program and at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara.^[8] He has also contributed to several op-eds and articles on topics such as energy transition, enhancing supply security, and energy governance.

Political career

Before becoming Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Turkey on June 4, 2023, Bayraktar served as Deputy Minister from 2018 to 2023 and Deputy Undersecretary, following his role as the General Director of International Affairs and European Union from 2016 to 2018. He also served as a Commissioner of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority of Turkey from 2010 to 2016.^[1]

Bayraktar was involved in the "Turkish Energy Transition 1.0,"^[9] which provided a basis for the National Energy and Mining Strategy. The period before 2016 involved recognizing the need for guidelines to ensure efficient energy supply and promote clean energy. Following the announcement of Turkey's National Energy and Mining Strategy in 2017,^[10] Bayraktar outlined plans for "Turkish Energy Transition 2.0."^[9] This next phase prioritized policies aimed at enhancing supply security, reducing foreign dependency, and diversifying Turkey’s energy mix by increasing the share of renewables.^[11]

Bayraktar has spoken at many international energy events, addressing topics such as the future of energy, carbon neutrality goals, and the role of nuclear energy as a transition tool for achieving clean energy.^[12]