Education
After he graduated from Kayseri High School, he continued his education at Istanbul University in the Department of Economics.
After he graduated from Kayseri High School, he continued his education at Istanbul University in the Department of Economics.
Gül became acquainted with right-wing politics early during his high school years. During his university education, he became a member of the Islamist-nationalist Millî Türk Talebe Birliği (National Turkish Students' Union) in the line of Necip Fazıl's Büyük Doğu (Grand Orient) current. He was elected a member of the Turkish parliament for the Refah Partisi from the Kayseri electoral district in 1991 and 1995. In 1999, he kept his seat as a member of the Fazilet Partisi which was subsequently outlawed by the Constitutional Court for its violation of the Constitution. Its predecessor, the Refah Partisi, was also outlawed by the Constitutional Court for its violation of the Constitution, especially the principle of secularism. By this time, Gül had apparently moderated his views and was reportedly considered to be part of the Virtue Party's reformist faction. As such, he was among the founders of the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party), a party which billed itself as a moderate conservative party in the European tradition. He was elected once again to represent Kayseri in 2002