Born October 29, 1950 into a religious family in Kayseri.
A qualified economist, he graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Istanbul University in 1971, before pursuing a PhD in London and Exeter (UK). He held a teaching post at Sakarya University while writing his doctoral thesis on the "Development of economic relations between Turkey and Islamic Countries". He holds an associate professorship in International Economics at Istanbul University.
He first started playing an active role in politics in the mid 70s, when he also became interested in Islam. Following in his father's footsteps he joined the electoral campaign of the religious Party of National Salvation. He was held in police detention for a year for being "politically suspect" after he was accused of assisting Islamic groups in the period immediately after the military coup in 1980. Some of that time was spent in an Istanbul Military Prison.
From 1983-1991 he worked as an expert in the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).
He first stood for election to Parliament in 1991 for the religious Welfare Party. In 1995 and 1999 he was elected to represent the Welfare Party and its successor the Virtue Party.
From 1992-2001 he was part of the Turkish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and was awarded the "pro merito" medal and named Permanent Honorary Member of PACE.
He held the post of State Minister and official Government Representative in Mr Erbakan's coalition government of 1996-7, during which time he fostered links with Turkic-speaking states and communities.
He was involved in forming the Virtue Party's "reformist movement" which called for the revision of some of the ideological points of traditional political Islam, and for a move away from confrontation with the state over the issue of secularism. In August 2001 members of this movement, led by the Former Istanbul Mayor Recep Tayyip Erdogan, established the Party of Justice and Development.
Following their victory in the 2002 parliamentary elections, the Party of Justice and Development was able to form a Government on its own. At that time, Mr Erdogan was unable to stand for election, due to his previous conviction on political grounds, and so Mr Erdogan entrusted Mr Gül with leading the Government. As Prime Minister, Mr Gül followed a moderate course in domestic and international politics. In the subsequent government, formed in March 2003, after the confirmation of Mr Erdogan as Prime Minister, he took up the post of deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
After the term of office of the previous head of state expired in 2007, the Party for Justice and Development nominated Abdullah Gül as a candidate for President. On August 28, 2007 he was elected President in the third round of Parliamentary voting.
He is known in the country and abroad as a relatively liberal politician, close in his current views to the centrists. He is on good terms with the business community. He supports close contact with representatives of Western countries. He is a strong supporter of Turkey joining the EU and the development of its relations with the US.
Married, has three children (two sons and a daughter). His spouse, Hayrünnisa Gül is a housewife, wears a headscarf (of a kind that is seen as complying with the current secular norms as a symbol of Islam's politicisation), which prevented her from being accepted at University.
He speaks English and Arabic.