Who is Hasan Bekir Ulker Sedef’s mother? Report links her to moving to college after GPA drops (Image via Getty)
Political broadcaster Hassan Baker, known online as Hassan Abiy, has been in the news after reports that he was banned from entering the UK by the UK Home Office. Meanwhile, a report in the New York Post drew renewed attention to his college years and family background.
The report claimed that Hassan struggled academically while attending the University of Miami and later transferred to Rutgers University with the help of his mother. It also included several allegations from unnamed sources about his personal life. Hassan Baker did not respond publicly to the report.While people were discussing these allegations, many became curious about the woman mentioned in the story. Hasan’s mother, Ulker Sedef Peker, has built an academic career of her own and comes from a family with strong ties to education, business and media.
Over the years, Hassan has also spoken publicly about her influence on his life and the motivation she provided for him while growing up.
Who is Ulker Sedef Peker and what did the New York Post say about Hasan Peker’s university years?
Ulker Sedev Bekir, whose first name is Uyghur, is an art and architectural historian. She earned her bachelor’s degree in art history from Rutgers University and later completed her doctorate at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where her research focused on architectural history and Orientalism.
Born in Istanbul, Türkiye, Ülker is the daughter of Nuket Yavsa and Doğan Uyghur. Her brother is Cenk Uyghur, co-founder of The Young Turks. According to family stories shared in interviews, Dogan Uyghur grew up in a poor farming family before earning a scholarship, becoming a mechanical engineer, and later moving to the United States. He eventually worked in real estate development and invested in The Young Turks.
Ülker’s mother ran a home textile company.Ülker is married to Mehmet Behçet Peker, a political scientist and economist. They have two sons, Hassan Bekir and Murad Bekir, who works as an aeronautical engineer.According to the New York Post, Hassan enrolled at the University of Miami in 2009 after returning to the United States. He had a 2.9 GPA and struggled academically because he was “partying too hard,” the outlet reported.
After those grades, Ulker helped arrange his transfer to Rutgers University, where he later graduated in 2013, the report alleged.Hassan has previously spoken warmly about his mother. In a 2016 Facebook birthday post, he called her:“The most badass, gorgeous, ambitious, caring, loving, educated, feminist woman on the planet.”He also wrote:“Two years ago she returned to college to pursue higher education in art history with a focus on cultural preservation – all while managing her commercial real estate holdings.”Hassan Baker added that seeing his mother continuing her education inspired him and “gave me the motivation to strive for greatness every day.”