Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday unveiled a new-look cabinet after being sworn in for a new term, with his son-in-law Berat Albayrak given the crucial post of finance minister.
In another key change announced by Erdoğan, army chief of staff General Hulusi Akar joins the government as defence minister in a 16-seat cabinet, hours after he was sworn into office on July 9.
Erdoğan then appointed ground forces commander General Yaşar Güler as chief of staff by presidential decree published in the official gazette.
Mustafa Varank, one of the closest aides of Erdoğan, will serve as the Industry and Development Minister in the new cabinet.
Erdoğan opted to continue with current Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in the new cabinet.
He named Ruhsar Pekcan, a businesswoman who has been serving at Turkey’s largest trade chamber as the deputy head for the woman entrepreneurship and at Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK), as Trade Minister.
Undersecretary of the Energy Ministry Fatih Dönmez is appointed as the Energy Minister while Cahit Turan, former head of the Directorate of Highways, will serve as the Transportation and Infrastructure Minister.
Education Minister Ziya Selçuk is well-known as the owner of a private college in Turkey.
Erdoğan was sworn in Monday under a new governing system that grants him sweeping executive powers.
The post of prime minister has been scrapped and the president will now be able to select his own cabinet, regulate ministries and remove civil servants, all without parliamentary approval.
The president will now appoint vice presidents and high-level bureaucrats, issue decrees, prepare the budget and has the power to impose a state of emergency.
Under the new system, Erdoğan will not only run the executive branch but also lead his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in parliament where he is six short of a majority and therefore allied with a nationalist party.
Vice President: Fuat Oktay
Defence Minister: Hulusi Akar
Treasury and Finance Minister: Berat Albayrak
Energy and Natural Resources Minister: Fatih Dönmez
National Education Minister: Ziya Selçuk
Justice Minister- Abdülhamit Gül
Foreign Minister: Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
Interior Minister: Süleyman Soylu
Treasury and Finance Minister: Berat Albayrak
Industry and Development Minister: Mustafa Varank
Trade Minister: Ruhsar Pekcan
Environment and Urban Minister: Murat Kurum
Health Minister: Fahrettin Koca
Transport and Infrastructure Minister: Cahit Turan
Culture and Tourism Minister: Mehmet Ersoy
Labor, Social Services and Family Minister: Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk
Agriculture and Forest Minister: Bekir Pakdemirli
Youth and Sports Minister: Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu
