After winning the presidential runoff election on May 28, President Recep Tayyip Erdoan unveiled Turkey’s new cabinet composition on Saturday night.
Together with the appointment of a new vice president, 16 of the previous 18 ministers have been replaced in the new cabinet, resulting in significant alterations.
Notably, the 16 ministers who were replaced were elected as members of parliament during the May 14 election. The positions of the ministers responsible for culture and tourism and health have been maintained.
A notable aspect of the cabinet reshuffle is the increase in the number of bureaucrats assuming ministerial positions, which represents a transition away from “career politicians.”
Interior Department
Süleyman Soylu, a prominent and controversial member of the ruling coalition, was unable to secure a position in the new cabinet, contrary to widespread expectations that he would continue as interior minister.
The governor of Istanbul, Ali Yerlikaya, has been appointed as the new interior minister. Yerlikaya served as the governor of Gaziantep, known as the organization’s principal hub for sleeper cells in Turkey, from 2015 to 2018. During this time, Turkey was the target of multiple ISIS attacks.
During Yerlikaya’s tenure as Istanbul’s governor, police crackdowns on women’s rights activists, the LGBTI+ community, and human rights advocates increased.
During the transition ceremony, Yerlikaya, who is viewed by some as a relatively moderate figure, emphasised that “our guiding principles are law and human rights.”
Hakan Fidan, who has led the National Intelligence Organisation (MT) since 2010, has assumed the position of foreign minister.
Since acquiring the position of chief of intelligence, Fidan has played a crucial role in major national developments. These include the “resolution process” for the Kurdish matter, which involved talks between Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leaders and MT officials in Oslo, which were subsequently leaked to the press in 2011 and made public.
In 2012, when prosecutors cited Fidan as a suspect in a PKK-related investigation, then-Prime Minister Erdoan staunchly defended Fidan, stating, “He is my secret-keeper. The guardian of the Republic of Turkey’s secrets.”
In recent years, Turkey has relied on intelligence agencies to establish preliminary contacts prior to initiating diplomatic initiatives to repair strained relations with nations such as Syria and Egypt.
Since November 2015, Mevlüt avuşolu has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, making him the longest-serving official in this position. He will now resume his political career as a member of parliament.
The vacancy left by Fidan is anticipated to be filled by brahim Kaln, who has been the presidential spokesperson since 2014 and also functions as Erdoan’s chief foreign policy advisor.
General Yaşar Güler has been appointed defence minister, signifying the second appointment in a row of a former chief of the General Staff to this position. Güler’s predecessor, Hulusi Akar, also served as Chief of the General Staff from 2015 to 2018.
Yaşar Güler was the director of intelligence at the General Staff during the infamous 2011 Roboski Massacre, in which 34 people involved in smuggling between rnak and the Kurdish region of Iraq were bombed. Moreover, he and Hulusi Akar were detained by soldiers at the Aknc Air Base during the July 2016 coup attempt.
The Treasury and Finance Ministry
The replacement of Nureddin Nebati with Mehmet imşek is another notable alteration in the cabinet. This change has been interpreted as a reversion to conventional economic policies. During the transition ceremony, imşek, who is well-known for his ties to international financial circles, emphasised that “there is no alternative but to return to a rational economic ground.” Nebati, on the other hand, was well-known for his support of Erdoan’s “low interest-low inflation” policy.
The only female cabinet member
Mahinur Ozdemir-Goktaş has been appointed as the minister of family and social services, becoming the sole female cabinet member.
Born in Belgium, Ozdemir-Goktaş was elected to the Humanist Democratic Centre (CDH) parliament in 2009 and 2014. Due to her denial of the Armenian Genocide, she was expelled from the party in 2015 and served as an independent lawmaker until 2019.
In 2020, after completing her tenure in the Belgian Parliament, the President appointed Ozdemir-Goktaş as the Turkish ambassador to Algeria. The politician, who is 41 years old, is also the youngest cabinet member.
The administration members are:
Justice Minister: Yılmaz Tunc
Minister of Family and Social Services: Mahinur Ozdemir Goktaş
Minister of Labour and Social Security: Vedat Işkhan
Environment, Urbanisation, and Climate Change Minister: Mehmet Ozhaseki Foreign Minister: Hakan Fidan
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources: Alparslan Bayraktar Minister of Youth and Sports: Osman Aştn Bak
Finance and Treasury Minister: Mehmet imşek
Interior Minister: Ali Yerlikaya Culture and Tourism Minister: Mehmet Nuri Ersoy
Minister of National Education: Yusuf Tekin Minister of National Defence: Yaşar Güler
Health Minister: Fahrettin Koca
Minister of Industry and Technology: Mehmet Fatih Kacr Minister of Agriculture and Forestry: brahim Yumakl
Transportation and Infrastructure Minister: Abdulkadir Uralolu Trade Minister: Omer Bolat
Info Source-English Bianet