President Erdoğan orders sweeping senior appointments in Turkey
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a decree published in the Official Gazette on 31 July 2026 that reshuffled dozens of senior officials across ministries and regional directorates. Tolga Balcı was removed as Deputy Director General of the Strategy and Budget Presidency’s Sectors and Public Investments unit and replaced by Atila Bedir. Cem Kurt was appointed Deputy Director of Legal Services in the Justice Ministry.
Multiple provincial directorates were reassigned, with new heads named for Karaman, Kilis, Manisa, Diyarbakır, Malatya, Elazığ, Erzincan, Bilecik and other provinces. Yakup Koç was dismissed as head of Strategy Development at the Social Security Institution and succeeded by İlkay Akçay. In the Meteorology General Directorate, Mahmut Güneş (5th region) and Bülent Şirin (10th region) were removed; Ümit Gülbağ and Hasan Acar were appointed as their successors, and Özgür Taşçıoğlu was assigned to the 9th region. Muhammed Mustafa İzgeç was appointed Second President of the Energy Market Regulation Authority, with Erdoğan Tozan and İbrahim Tan added as board members. Additional appointments included Melikşah Taşkın as Deputy Director of the Agricultural Enterprises Directorate, Bilal Timur as XI Regional Director of the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry, and several new members of the Adli Tip (Forensic Medicine) specialist boards.
Entities: Atila Bedir · Cem Kurt · Ministry of Justice · Muhammed Mustafa İzgeç · Official Gazette of Turkey · President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan · Recep Tayyip Erdoğan · Social Security Institution (SGK) · Strategy and Budget Presidency · Tolga Balcı · Yakup Koç · İlkay Akçay
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 28 SOURCES] Melikşah Taşkın was appointed Deputy Director of the Agricultural Enterprises Directorate. (official decree)
- [● 24 SOURCES] Several provincial directorates were reassigned, including new appointments in Karaman, Kilis, Manisa, Diyarbakır, Malatya, Elazığ, Erzincan, and Bilecik. (official decree)
- [● 24 SOURCES] Muhammed Mustafa İzgeç was appointed Second President of the Energy Market Regulation Authority; Erdoğan Tozan and İbrahim Tan were appointed as board members. (official decree)
- [● 28 SOURCES] Meteorology regional director Mahmut Güneş (5th region) and Bülent Şirin (10th region) were removed; Ümit Gülbağ and Hasan Acar were appointed as their successors, and Özgür Taşçıoğlu was appointed to (official decree)
- [● 28 SOURCES] Yakup Koç was dismissed as head of Strategy Development at the Social Security Institution and succeeded by İlkay Akçay. (official decree)
- [● 28 SOURCES] Tolga Balcı was removed as Deputy Director General of the Strategy and Budget Presidency’s Sectors and Public Investments unit and replaced by Atila Bedir. (official decree)
- [● 30 SOURCES] Cem Kurt was appointed Deputy Director of Legal Services in the Justice Ministry. (official decree)
- [● 9 SOURCES] President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed the appointment decisions published in the Official Gazette on 31 July 2026. (automatic)
- [● 24 SOURCES] Muhammed Mustafa İzgeç was appointed Second President of the Energy Market Regulation Authority (EPDK) and Erdoğan Tozan and İbrahim Tan were appointed as board members. (clm_de4817e4-5adf-4541-926d-cdac4cf840c9)
- [● 20 SOURCES] Tolga Balcı was removed as Deputy Director of the Strategy and Budget Presidency’s Sectors and Public Investments and replaced by Atila Bedir. (official Gazette appointment)
- [● 20 SOURCES] Melikşah Taşkın was appointed Deputy Director of the Agricultural Enterprises Directorate and Bilal Timur was appointed as the XI Regional Director of the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry. (official Gazette appointment)
- [● 20 SOURCES] Mahmut Güneş and Bülent Şirin were removed as 5th and 10th regional directors of the Meteorology General Directorate and replaced by Ümit Gülbağ and Hasan Acar respectively, with Özgür Taşçıoğlu added (official Gazette appointment)