Alparslan Bayraktar

Alparslan Bayraktar (born 1975) is a Turkish academic, engineer, and politician. He has served as Minister of Energy and Natural Resources since 2023. Before being elected to this position, he had held several other senior positions within the ministry, including Deputy Minister and commissioner of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority.^[5]

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 (BS)[1] Tufts University (MA)[2] Bilkent University (MA)[3] Middle East Technical University (PhD)[4]

Bayraktar has served as the chair of the World Energy Council for Turkey since 2015, and as the chair of the Istanbul Center for Regulation since 2018.^[6][7]

Early life and education

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

Bayraktar earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Istanbul Technical University, and a Master of Arts, as well as education in International Relations, from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University in Massachusetts.^[8] Moreover, he also obtained a Master's Degree in Law and Economics from Bilkent University in Ankara. He received his PhD 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."^[9]

Career

Academic career

Bayraktar has lectured at Bilkent University in Ankara for the Energy Economics, Policy, and Security (EEPS) program and at Middle East Technical University in Ankara.^{[citation needed]}

Political career

Bayraktar was appointed Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey on June 4, 2023. He began his political career as a Commissioner of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority from 2010 to 2016. Following this, he served as the General Director of International Affairs and the European Union from 2016 to 2018, which led to his appointment as Deputy Undersecretary. From 2018 until 2023, he held the position of Deputy Minister.^[5]

During his time, Bayraktar contributed to "Turkish Energy Transition 1.0,"^[10] a foundational initiative that informed the National Energy and Mining Strategy. His work during the period before 2016 involved identifying the necessity for guidelines to ensure effective energy supply and encourage the adoption of clean energy. Following the announcement of Turkey's National Energy and Mining Strategy was announced in 2017, Bayraktar then detailed plans for "Turkish Energy Transition 2.0."^[10] This subsequent phase focused on policies designed to enhance energy supply security, decrease the country's reliance on imported energy sources, and diversify Turkey's energy mix by increasing the share of renewable energy sources.^[11]

Throughout his career, Bayraktar has frequently addressed international energy forums. His discussions at these events have covered various topics, including the future of energy, objectives for carbon neutrality (global net-zero emissions), and the function of nuclear energy in the transition to clean energy.^[12]