Erdogan announces major Cabinet reshuffle

2009-05-02 17:17:00

ArmInfo. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced revisions in
the Cabinet on Friday after receiving approval from President Abdullah
Gul in the wake of the March 29 local elections and amid the ongoing
global financial crisis. Whereas eight ministers were excluded from the
Cabinet, nine new individuals started to carry ministerial titles just
hours before the start of the weekend. On the other hand, seven
ministers now have different seats in the 27-member ministers’ club,
including Erdogan himself.

Turkish media reported that with the revisions, Deputy Prime Minister
Nazim Ekren, Minister of Justice Mehmet Ali Sahin, Minister of Finance
Kemal Unakitan, Minister of Education Huseyin Celik, Minister of Energy
and Natural Resources Mehmet Hilmi Guler, Minister of State Murat
Basesgioglu, Minister of State Kursad Tuzmen and Minister of State
Mustafa Said Yazicioglu were left out of the Cabinet. Erdogan said
those removals from office have nothing to do with any mistakes made by
any of those former ministers. Whereas the aforementioned eight
ministers were removed from Erdogan’s Cabinet, nine new names stepped
into ministerial posts. The most striking appointments were those of
Bulent Arinc and Ahmet Davutoglu. Ar?nc became one of the three deputy
prime ministers, and Professor Davutoglu is now Turkey’s new minister
of foreign affairs, taking over the post from Ali Babacan. Babacan was
made a deputy prime minister as well and will be responsible for the
coordination of country’s economy. The last deputy prime minister is
still Cemil Cicek, who maintained his seat.