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The Turkish government reshuffled its cabinet overnight, appointing new ministers to lead the Interior and Justice ministries, with Akin Gurlek replacing Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc and Mustafa Ciftci replacing Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.
A cabinet change in Türkiye had been expected in recent weeks. Türkiye’s former interior minister Ali Yerlikaya was widely rumoured to be causing political tension between the ruling AK Party and its nationalist ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Such claims were voiced by Türkiye’s pro-opposition media and were not confirmed by either the governing party or its ally.
Türkiye’s Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek kept his post despite calls from some factions within the AK Party for his removal due to his orthodox economic policies. His retention signals President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s support for and approval of the current policy direction.
New Justice Minister Akın Gurlek previously served as Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor, overseeing major corruption investigations, including the case involving former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
Imamoglu was first detained on Mar. 19, 2025, as part of a corruption-related investigation and was formally arrested on Mar. 23, 2025.
Before his tenure as Istanbul’s chief prosecutor, Gurlek served as deputy justice minister between 2022 and 2024.
Mustafa Ciftci is a career bureaucrat who rose through Türkiye’s Interior Ministry after starting his career as a district governor in the late 1990s. He later served as governor of several provinces, most recently Erzurum.
In his first remarks regarding his new post, Çiftçi said:
"I would like to thank our honorable deputies, provincial chairpersons of our political parties, my colleagues working in all public institutions and organizations, and everyone else. I have undertaken a duty with heavy responsibility. I arrived in Erzurum on a hot day, August 18th. I am leaving the city on a snowy Erzurum day. God willing, I hope to see you again."
Outgoing ministers Ali Yerlikaya and Yılmaz Tunç also shared posts on their social media accounts, thanking President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and wishing success to the newly appointed ministers.
AK Party Deputy Chairman and spokesperson Omer Celik congratulated both new ministers in a social media post, wishing them success in their new duties. "We also thank our outgoing ministers, Mr. Ali Yerlikaya and Mr. Yilmaz Tunc, for their service to date," Celik added.
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