He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Resources Management as well as a Master of Public Administration, both from the Baruch College of City University of New York.

[5] As a top adviser to the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Bağış played a key role in the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) policies.

Bağış formerly served as the president of the Federation of Turkish American Associations, the New York-based umbrella organization of Turkish-Americans that sponsored his green card petition in the United States.

He also pointed to the election defeat last year of then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a fellow opponent of Turkish EU membership.

[17] Turkish religious leader Ahmet Mahmut Ünlü criticised Bağış, stating "He mocked Surah Al Baqarah, they [AK Party] still talk with him, sit and laugh with him.