ZAFER SIRAKAYA
He was born in Herne (NRW) in 1974 and spent his childhood in Germany.
After attending primary school in Herne, he continued his secondary education in Bursa (Türkiye). He continued his earlier education in the middle school at the local İmam Hatip High School and completed his secondary education at Yıldırım Beyazıt High School in Bursa.
In 1998, he graduated from Bilkent University in Ankara, which is one of the prestigious universities in Türkiye, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Public Administration. Afterwards he successfully completed his MBA at the University of Wales (UK).
2004 – 2014: As one of the co-founders of Union of European Turkish Democrats (a formally registered association based in Germany) in 2004, he initially took on general administrative tasks and subsequently was appointed as Deputy Chairman and Spokesman for foreign and economic relations.
He was also the board member of the MÜSİAD (Independent Industrialist’ and Businessmen’s Association) in North Rhine-Westphalia; Chairman of the Association “European Citizens from Tokat” (Türkiye); Deputy Chairman of the Turkish-German Liberal Association, as well as the founding member and Deputy Chairman of the German Diwan.
In 2014, he was appointed as the Chairman of the AK Party Representative Office in Brussels. He was a Board Member and Deputy Chairman of the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR), of which the AK Party was a member between 2013 – 2018.
After completing his duties in Brussels, he took over the Chairmanship of the UETD. On 24th June 2018, he was elected as AK Party Deputy for Istanbul in the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye.
Between 21st September 2018 and 7th April 2023, he served as the AK Party Deputy Chairman for Foreign Relations. On 16th October 2019, Zafer Sırakaya was appointed as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Turks Abroad and Related Communities in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) and served until the end of the 27th Parliamentary Term. On 14th May 2023, he was re-elected as AK Party Deputy for İstanbul in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM).
With the approval of our President and Chairman of AK Party Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Zafer Sırakaya was appointed as the Vice-Chairman of AK Party and Chairman for Foreign Affairs on June 19, 2023.
Being married with three children, Zafer Sırakaya is fluent in German and English.