By Martin Makaryan
Shortly after being sworn in for his third term as president of Turkey earlier this month, Recep Tayip Erdoğan, who has been ruling the country for two decades, announced his new cabinet of ministers. The near-complete overhaul of the government through fresh ministerial appointments of loyal officials in key positions hint at Erdoğan’s ambition to stay the course on domestic and foreign policy but create an impression for the west of openness to cooperate.
Erdoğan enters his third decade in power in a country that has seen an accelerated slide towards autocracy and a cost of living crisis that sent the lira to record lows. But his win in the run-off election against Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has given the president a new mandate to shape the trajectory of the country, especially when it comes to a wrecked economy and foreign policy issues in the west and the Middle East.
As part of a government overhaul, Erdoğan replaced a key political ally and a founding member of the ruling party, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, with the former intelligence chief Hakan Fidan as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Fidan is a key figure in Turkey’s strategic involvement in the Middle East and has served as a sergeant in the military. More importantly, he is a personal confidant of the president and appears to have his full trust. Fidan’s appointment paved the way for another of Erdoğan’s most trusted officials, Ibrahim Kalın, to become the head of national intelligence.
Another key appointment was the naming of Yaşar Güler as Defense Minister. Güler previously served as the Chief of General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces.
Ali Yeriklaya, the former Istanbul Governor, will now serve as the Minister of Interior. Yeriklaya recently tweeted a poem honoring the 40th death anniversary of Necip Fazil Kisakürek. Kisakürek was a Turkish poet and Islamist thinker who has been an inspiration for both President Erdoğan’s Justice and Development party, and for Turkish Islamist ideologues.
Erdoğan’s new government also includes Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, the only woman in the cabinet, who was previously elected to the Belgian Parliament but was expelled from her party for publicly denying the Armenian Genocide of 1915.
Perhaps one of the more intriguing appointments is Mehmet Şimşek as Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Minister. This move is likely to re-establish confidence by foreign investors in Turkey’s economy as Şimşek, who previously served in this role and was Deputy Prime Minister from 2015-2018, is known for his market-friendly policies.
Some experts interpret this appointment as an attempt to return the country to conventional economic strategies, away from Erdoğan’s policies that have resulted in a serious economic crisis with soaring inflation.
With foreign investors running from Turkey’s markets, and holdings of the country’s stocks and bonds sinking to historic lows, it remains to be seen if Erdoğan’s shake-up of the cabinet will resolve the country’s pressing issues.
