Education
Born in the rural district of Bahçe in the province of Osmaniye, Bahçeli attended primary school there.
Born in the rural district of Bahçe in the province of Osmaniye, Bahçeli attended primary school there.
An academic in economics at Gazi University in Ankara until 1987, he served as Deputy Prime Minister in the coalition government of Bülent Ecevit (1999–2002). Elected in the province of Osmaniye, he has been an Member of Parliament in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey since 22 July 2007. He moved to Istanbul for his secondary education.
Bahçeli received his higher education from the scientific academy in Ankara and his doctorate from Gazi University in Ankara.
Bahçeli served as a lecturer for economics at Gazi University before entering political life in 1987. From 1999 to 2002, Bahçeli served as a deputy prime minister in the coalition government (Digital signal processing-Anavatan Partisi (Motherland Party)-MHP) of Bülent Ecevit.
Devlet Bahçeli said that the attacks by MHP affiliated Turkish youth on South Korean tourists was "understandable", telling the Turkish news paper Hurriyet that: "What feature differentiates a Korean from a Chinese? They see that they both have slanted eyes. How can they tell the difference?".
Another translation of his remarks was: "What is the difference between a Korean and a Chinese anyway? They both have slitty eyes.
Does it make any difference?" A Uighur staffed, Turkish owned Chinese restaurant was assaulted by Turkish nationalists, who have also attacked the Dutch consulate which they thought was the Russian consulate. Elections
In the 2007 general elections, Devlet Bahçeli led the MHP list in the province of Osmaniye. In the 2011 general elections, he led the MHP list in the province of Osmaniye.
In 1987, Devlet Bahçeli became a member of the board of the Nationalist Task Party (MÇP), which was officially renamed the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) during a congress on 24 January 1993.