Former ministers elected as parliamentary commission heads

ANKARA

Following a voting session in the Turkish parliament, the heads of specialized commissions have been determined, with former ministers taking leadership positions in commissions relevant to their respective fields.

During the general assembly meetings, the commissions convened to select the members of the Presidential Council.

After the voting process, Hulusi Akar, the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) Kayseri deputy and former defense minister, was elected as the National Defense Commission’s head, while former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, the AKP’s current Istanbul deputy, became the chair of the Internal Affairs Commission.

Former Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu, the ruling party’s Trabzon MP, assumed the role of chair of the Public Works, Reconstruction, Transport and Tourism Commission.

AKP’s Ankara deputy and former Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Bilgin was elected as the Health, Family, Labor and Social Affairs Commission’s head.

Mehmet Muş, the former Trade Minister and an AKP lawmaker elected from Samsun, took on the position of the Planning and Budget Committee’s head.

Former Agriculture and Forestry Minister Vahit Kirişci, the AKP’s Kahramanmaraş MP, became the chair of the Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Affairs Commission.

Mustafa Varank, former industry and technology minister, assumed the role of head of the Industry, Commerce, Energy, Natural Resources, Information and Technology Commission, while former Education Minister Mahmut Özer was elected as the head of the National Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Commission.

Murat Kurum, former environment, urbanization and climate change minister and elected as MP from Istanbul, became the chair of the Environment Commission.

Former Vice President Fuat Oktay, meanwhile, took on the position of the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Other appointments included AKP deputies Yusuf Beyazıt as head of the Constitutional Commission, Hüseyin Yayman as head of the Digital Media Commission, Sunay Karamık as head of the Petition Commission, Veysal Tipioğlu as head of the Security and Intelligence Commission and Cüneyt Yüksel as head of the Justice Commission.