Turkey's prime minister to deliver major policy address

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the prime minister of Turkey, will deliver a major policy address titled "Building Global Peace: Turkish Regional Foreign Policy Priorities," at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall.

Erdoğan was appointed prime minister in March 2003 and is the founding chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which came to power in Turkey in 2002.

His lecture, which is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, will be delivered in Turkish with English translation.

Involved in Turkish politics since the 1970s, Erdoğan served as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 until 1997, when he was removed from office after being sentenced to prison because of a poem he recited in a public address in the province of Siirt. He was released from prison after four months and remained involved in the country's political matters, leading to the founding of the AK Party.

Tickets for the event will be available for University ID holders on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15, at the University Ticketing office at the Frist Campus Center. One ticket will be distributed per TigerCard; up to two TigerCards may be presented.

A limited number of tickets will be available for members of the public on a first-come, first-served basis from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, at Richardson Auditorium. A government-issued photo ID is required to obtain a ticket; up to two IDs may be presented.