Technical University's School of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, studying Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and later received his master's degree from the same department. While serving in numerous managerial positions in the General Directorate of the Turkish Shipping Industry and the Camialtı Shipyard, he received specialised training regarding Maritime Safety and Environmental Protection from the International Maritime Organisation's World Maritime University in Sweden. While at the World Maritime University, he spent six months working with maritime administration professionals at Scandinavian and European ports. İstanbul Fast Ferries Director, 1994–2000 After graduation, Yıldırım served as the director general of the İstanbul Fast Ferries Company (İDO) from 1994 to 2000 while Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was Mayor of İstanbul. In attempts to make greater use of sea travel to ease transport congestion in İstanbul, Yıldırım established the İstanbul-Yalova and İstanbul-Bandırma ferry routes and oversaw the establishment of 29 ferry terminals, the commission of 22 passenger and 4 car ferries, making İDO the largest commercial maritime transportation company of its time. In 1999, he was awarded a quality medal by the Skål International group for his contributions to the modernisation of the maritime transportation and tourism industries. He was removed from office by Erdoğan's successor, Mayor Ali Müfit Gürtuna, following allegations of misconduct, having been accused of hiring out buffets to a firm run by members of his close family. Early political career As the Director of İDO, Yıldırım established a close relationship to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who served as İstanbul's Mayor from 1994 to 1998. When the latter led efforts to establish a new moderate conservative democratic political party in August 2001, Yıldırım joined Erdoğan to become a founding member of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). He was subsequently fielded as a parliamentary candidate for İstanbul's first electoral district in the 2002 general election and was elected following the party's landslide victory. Member of Parliament Elected as a Member of Parliament for İstanbul's first electoral district in the 2002 general election, he was re-elected as an MP in the 2007 general election as a candidate from his home province of Erzincan. In 2006, he stated that his name was of Alevi origin and that he would work hard for the AKP to field Alevi candidates in the upcoming election, in response to criticism that the party was discriminating against the Alevi minority in Turkey due to its Sunni Islam political origin. In