76 people appointed to Turkey’s presidential policy councils

ANKARA

Seventy-six people have been appointed to the Turkish presidency’s policy councils, established after a change in Turkey’s governance system following a referendum in April 2017, the Official Gazette said on Oct. 9.

The new appointees are set to develop recommendations on decisions to be made and policies to be created at the presidency. They will prepare reports for the presidency and hold regular and extensive meetings.

The councils were given the authority to ask for information from any state institution in the wake of the referendum.

Turkish think tank SETA head Burhanettin Duran, Çağrı Erhan, Gülnur Aybet, Beril Dedeoğlu, Presidential Spokesperson and foreign policy aide İbrahim Kalın, İlnur Çevik, İsmail Safi, Mehmet Akif Kireçci, Mesut Hakkı Caşın, Nurşin Ateşoğlu Güney, and Seyit Sertçelik have been appointed to the security and foreign policies council.

Adnan Tanrıverdi is also a member of the council. Tanrıverdi is a retired brigadier, who is the head of SADAT International Defense Consultancy, established in the early 2000s by soldiers dismissed from the military due to “reactionary activities” and is a company close to the AKP and offers “irregular warfare training” in various fields including “intelligence, psychological warfare, sabotage, raiding, ambushing, and assassination.”

Cemil Ragıp Ertem, businesswoman Gülsüm Azeri, Hakan Yurdakul, Hatice Karahan, Korkmaz Karaca - a former member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) party assembly - Mehmet Ali Akben, Meltem Taylan Aydın, former Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Servet Bayındır, and Yiğit Bulut have been appointed to serve at the economy policies council.

Bilkent University rector Abdullah Atalar, former Confederation of Public Workers’ Trade Unions (Memur-Sen) head Ahmet Cevat Acar, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmaker Ahmet Gündoğdu, Kemal Şamlıoğlu, Ökdem Vardar, Turkish Education Association Director-General Selçuk Pehlivanoğlu, Tuncay Döğeroğlu, Umran S. İnan, and Yavuz Atar have been appointed to the council of education policies.

Former Deputy Parliament Speaker Ayşe Nur Bahçekapılı, Ayşe Türkmenoğlu, Burhan Kuzu, Hasan Nuri Yaşar, Mehmet Uçum, Mustafa Alkış, and Uğur Kızılca have been appointed to the council for law policies.

Alev Alatlı, Havva Sümeyra Şahin, actress Hülya Koçyiğit Soydan, İskender Pala, Mehmed Özçay, historian Murat Bardakçı, singer Orhan Gencebay, Rasim Özdenören and Ümit Meriç have been appointed to the council of culture and arts policies.

İbrahim Saraçoğlu, Necdet Ünüvar, former Family and Social Policies Minister Sema Ramazanoğlu, Serkan Topaloğlu, Ümmü Gülşen Öztürk, Zülfiye Füsun Kümet, and Zümrüt Begüm Ögel have been appointed to the council of health and food policies.

Hasan Kalyoncu University vice rector Edibe Sözen, İbrahim Altan, Lütfihak Alpkan, Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey (AFAD) head Dr. Mehmet Güllüoğlu, Murat Yılmaz, Vedat Bilgin, and Vedat Işıkhan have been appointed to the social policies council.

Asım Aykan, Hayrettin Güngör, Istanbul Municipality General-Secretary Hayri Baraçlı, Lütfi Akça, Mehmet Karabay, Oktay Saral, Refik Tuzcuoğlu, Şükrü Karatepe, Tarkan Oktay, and Tuna Koç have been assigned to the council of local administration policies.

Hasan Mandal, Mehmet Çelik, Turkey-U.S. Business Council (TAİK) chair Mehmet Ali Yalçındağ, Osman Coşkun, and Şaban Teoman Duralı have been assigned to the council of science, technology and renovation policies.