Bilgin studied Medicine both in Turkey and in Germany. Bilgin started his medical studies at the University of Istanbul in 1970 and finished them in 1979 at the Justus Liebig UniversityGiessen, Germany, where he also studied philosophy. From 1986 to 1989 he had stays abroad for scientific work in the field of heart transplantation in Louisville, Kentucky, after which he was recognized as a specialist in internal medicine and cardiology in Giessen. Bilgin has been a professor of cardiology since 1997.[6]
Since 1996 Bilgin has been working as a senior physician at the Center for Internal Medicine at Justus Liebig University. Since 2015 he has been the head of the Intercultural Medical Clinic at the Gießen University Hospital.[7]
Political career
Since 1988 he has been chairman of the Turkish-German Health Foundation, the first foundation to look after the interests of Turkish people living in Germany.[8] Since 1992 he has been chairman of the Council of Turkish Citizens with around 2,500 Turkish associations as members in Germany and a member of the Forum Against Racism at the Federal Ministry of the Interior.[9] He is also Member of the German integration summit.[10][11]
Since 2002 Bilgin has been a member of the executive committee of the CDU Hessen[12] and Chairman of the Avicenna-Award-Association.[13]
Other activities
Chairman of the Council of Turkish Citizens in Germany (since 1994)
President of the European Turkish Union (2004–2014)
Member of the integration advisory board of the Hessian state government (since 2010)