President Gul approves new Turkish cabinet

30/08/2007

The new head of state's first job was to okay the list of ministers brought to him by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

By Ahmet Gormez for Southeast European Times in Ankara - 30/08/07

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan heads the first meeting of his new cabinet in Ankara on Wednesday (August 29th). [Getty Images]

As Turkey's new head of state, Abdullah Gul, moved to the Presidential Palace, the first task awaiting him was to approve a new cabinet. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had submitted it two weeks ago to Gul's predecessor, Ahmet Necdet Sezer. But the outgoing president declined to review it, saying the job would be better left to whoever succeeded him in the post.

One day after parliament elected Gul, his close ally Erdogan brought him the list of ministers. Their meeting lasted one hour. Afterwards, the prime minister said he had proposed a cabinet of stability.

"I have chosen my ministers who can help us meet our goals in the future. My point was to keep the continuity and dynamism," Erdogan said. "In the new era we'll work for more freedom and prosperity. To preserve stability will be our priority. We have set a new strong cadre with former and new ministers."

The cabinet will be presented to the Parliament on Wednesday (September 5th) for a vote of confidence. The government only needs a simple majority and the ruling AKP – which easily won snap elections on July 22nd -- has 341 out of the total 500 seats.

Erdogan's new government consists of 24 ministers, plus the prime minister. Eight of the cabinet members -- Mustafa Yazicioglu, Mehmet Simsek, Faruk Celik, Nazim Erken, Hayati Yazici, Veysel Eroglu, Zafer Caglayan and Ertugrul Gunay – are new.

Ali Babacan, formerly the state minister responsible for economic affairs, has been tapped as the new former minister, taking up the post vacated by Gul. Babacan will also continue his work as chief negotiator between Turkey and the EU.

The only woman in the cabinet, State Minister for Women's and Children's Affairs Nimet Cubukcu, will continue in her post. Meanwhile, three previous ministers -- Atilla Koç, Abdulkadir Aksu and Osman Pepe – did not secure a place in Erdogan's new government.

The complete list of ministers is as follows:

• Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
• Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister Cemil Cicek
• Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister Hayati Yazici
• Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister Nazım Ekrem
• State Minister Mehmet Aydin
• State Minister Murat Basesgioglu
• State Minister Kursad Tuzmen
• State Minister Nimet Cubukcu
• State Minister Mehmet Simsek
• State Minister Mustafa Sait Yazicioglu
• Foreign Minister and Chief negotiator Ali Babacan
• Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul
• Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim
• Labor and Social Security Minister Faruk Celik
• Industry and Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan
• Health Minister Recep Akdag
• Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay
• Ministry of Public Works and Settlement Faruk Nafiz Ozak
• Minister of Environment and Forestry Veysel Eroglu
• Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin
• Agriculture and Rural Affairs Mehmet Mehdi Eker
• Education Minister Huseyin Celik
• Interior Minister Besir Atalay
• Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan
• Energy and Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Guler