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Further changes to Türkiye’s Cabinet could be imminent following the latest ministerial reshuffle, as three additional ministries are reportedly being discussed in political circles, a senior Ankara-based journalist has said.
After Mustafa Ciftci was appointed as interior minister and Akin Gurlek took over the justice ministry, attention in the capital turned to whether the government lineup would see more revisions.
Speaking on a television program, Turkish broadcaster TGRT Haber’s Ankara Representative Fatih Atik said the recent replacements were not expected to be the final step and that additional ministries could also see leadership changes.
Atik said the justice and interior portfolios had long been seen in Ankara political circles as likely candidates for change, but the process might not stop there. "Not limited to this only. Changes are expected in other ministries as well. The decision belongs to the President," he said.
He added that, based on information he heard from political sources, the trade, family, and labor ministries were being discussed as possible targets for further reshuffling.
"This number may even increase; we do not know. The president will decide on the timing," Atik added. "Cabinet members have completed 2.5 years in office."
On Feb. 11, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed Akin Gurlek, formerly Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor, as justice minister, replacing Yilmaz Tunc, and named Erzurum Governor Mustafa Ciftci as interior minister, taking over from Ali Yerlikaya. Both new ministers began their duties after taking their oaths in the Turkish parliament the same day.
As the ruling party neared key internal meetings and possible reform agendas, political circles in Ankara expected that changes could emerge both in the Cabinet and in the party’s leadership structure, pro-government Hurriyet columnist Hande Firat wrote, adding that the reshuffle should be read as part of a broader transition period rather than a performance-based replacement.
She also argued that the reshaped Cabinet highlights three ministers with strong civil administration backgrounds, namely National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, and Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci, reflecting a shared profile rooted in state tradition and bureaucratic discipline.
She added that the changes are not expected to remain limited to ministers. "When there is change in two strategic ministries such as justice and interior, new arrangements are also expected in the lower ranks," she noted.
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