President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has unveiled the new 16-minister Cabinet in the presidential complex in the capital Ankara, the first-ever Cabinet under the new presidential system made a reality on Monday.
Here are the members of the first Cabinet of Turkey's new presidential system of government:
Justice Minister: Abdulhamit Gul
Labor, Social Services and Family Minister: Zehra Zumrut Selcuk
Environment and Urbanization Minister: Murat Kurum
Foreign Minister: Mevlut Cavusoglu
Energy and Natural Resources Minister: Fatih Donmez
Youth and Sports Minister: Mehmet Kasapoglu
Treasury and Finance Minister: Berat Albayrak
Interior Minister: Suleyman Soylu
Culture and Tourism Minister: Mehmet Ersoy
National Education Minister: Ziya Selcuk
National Defense Minister: Hulusi Akar
Health Minister: Fahrettin Koca
Industry and Technology Minister: Mustafa Varank
Agriculture and Forestry Minister: Bekir Pakdemirli
Trade Minister: Ruhsar Pekcan
Transport and Infrastructure Minister: Cahit Turhan
Erdogan also announced Fuat Oktay as vice president.
Turkey: General Yasar Guler appointed as Chief of Staff
Turkish Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Guler was appointed Chief of General Staff under a new presidential decree published in the official gazette early Tuesday.
Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar was appointed as Minister of National Defense with the same decree, which was announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday.
The decree also included the names of the newly appointed deputy president and ministers following Erdogan's announcement of the new Cabinet.
Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Umit Dundar was named as the new Commander of Turkish Land Forces and Lt. Gen. Metin Gurak was appointed as the new Deputy Chief of General Staff by the new decree.
Roster of ministers
Murat Kurum
Appointed environment and urbanization minister, Murat Kurum was born in Ankara in 1976.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Selcuk University in the central Konya province, Kurum headed Emlak Konut GYO, a real estate developer belonging to TOKI, the state-backed housing developer.
Fatih Donmez
Born in the western Bilecik province in 1965, Fatih Donmez served as undersecretariat at the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry before his current promotion to energy and natural resources minister.
Mehmet Kasapoglu
Mehmet Kasapoglu, appointed the new youth and sports minister, was born in Istanbul in 1976.
He studied economics and administrative sciences at Marmara University and earned a local administration master’s from the same university. Kasapoglu also earned a master’s in business administration at Palm Beach Atlantic University, Florida.
He was previously the head of Turkey’s Spor Toto Organizational Directorate, which regulates the betting system and its financial payouts.
Mehmet Ersoy
New Culture and Tourism Minister Ersoy was born in 1968 in Istanbul.
He studied Business Administration at Istanbul University.
A tourism professional and businessman, Ersoy has been an administrator of cruise ships in Turkey.
Ziya Selcuk
New Education Minister Ziya Selcuk was born in 1961 in Ankara and studied educational science at Ankara’s Hacettepe University. He later became a professor at Gazi University, also in the capital.
He was president of the Board of Education and took part in Turkey’s EU accession negotiations in the fields of education and science.
Fahrettin Koca
New Health Minister Fahrettin Koca was born in 1965 in the central Konya province. He graduated from Istanbul University Medical School in 1988, where he also studied pediatrics.
Mustafa Varank
Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank, 42, earned a bachelor’s in political science and public administration at Ankara’s Middle East Technical University (METU).
He sought his master’s degree in computer science at Indiana University in the U.S.
He started working at the Prime Ministry in 2005, and served as top advisor to the premier in 2011, top advisor to the president in 2014, and became an ambassador in 2016.
Bekir Pakdemirli
Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli, 45, earned a bachelor’s in management at Ankara’s Bilkent University. He also studied for a master’s in management at Baskent University.
Pakdemirli earned a doctorate in economics at Celal Bayar University in Manisa. He was a freelance entrepreneur in the fields of food, agriculture, animal husbandry, technology, and automobiles.
He has been a founder and administrator in various companies, including cellular service provider Turkcell, discount market chain BIM, and AlBaraka Participation Bank.
Ruhsar Pekcan
New Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, 60, earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degree from Istanbul University’s electricity department.
Her career began in 1981 as an electrical engineer at a pipe manufacturing factory, and later she became a board member and general manager at the same company. She stepped down in 2005.
She is currently the CEO of an engineering company founded in 2005.
Cahit Turhan
New Transport and Infrastructure Minister Cahit Turhan was born in 1960.
He graduated from Karadeniz Technical University’s Construction Engineering Department, and earned his master’s from the same department.
After stepping down as head of the Highways Directorate, Turan worked as chief advisor to the president and member of the Council of State. He is now the CEO of a consortium which took over the construction of the North Marmara Highway.