Mr. Egemen Bagis was elected to the Turkish Parliament, representing Istanbul, in November 2002 as a member of the Justice and Development Party, also known as the AK Party.  He also is the Turkish Prime Minister's Foreign Policy Advisor and is the Chairman of the Turkey-USA Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Caucus at the Turkish Parliament.

 

In addition, Mr. Bagis is Deputy Chairman of the Turkish delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and serves as the Chairman of the Assembly's Subcommittee on Transatlantic Relations.

 

He is the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the “Istanbul, 2010 European Capital of Culture” initiative.  He is also among the founders of two museums — Istanbul Modern and the Santral Museum of Art & Industry.

 

An active member of the Turkish-American community within the U.S., Mr. Bagis was the President of the Federation of Turkish American Associations, the New York-based umbrella organization of Turkish-Americans.