İbrahim Kalın appointed as new intelligence chief

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has appointed İbrahim Kalın as the new head of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), the Communications Directorate announced late on June 5.

Before his appointment, Kalın had served as Türkiye’s presidential spokesperson since 2014. He replaced Hakan Fidan, who had been MİT’s head since 2010 until he took office as the foreign minister on June 3 in the new cabinet.

“I will continue to work for powerful, safe and independent Türkiye,” Kalın said in a social media post after the announcement.

Kalın also served as deputy chairman of the Security and Foreign Policy Council of the Turkish Presidency and chief adviser to Erdoğan.

He holds a Ph.D. from George Washington University on Islamic studies and was one of the founders of the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), an Ankara-based think tank. Kalın earned his professorship in 2020. He further played an active role in the Ukraine war by bringing the sides together, facilitating the Black Sea grain deal and the prisoner swap.

Musa Avsever new chief of general staff

With a series of appointments after a reshuffle in the cabinet, Erdoğan also appointed Musa Avsever, previously the head of the Turkish Land Forces Command, as the chief of general staff.

Avsever took the seat of the former chief of the army, Yaşar Güler, who will serve as the defense minister until 2028.

It has been a long-established tradition to appoint the chief of the land forces as the chief of general staff.

Erdoğan also appointed Davut Gül, previously the governor of the southern province of Gaziantep, as the new governor of Istanbul.

Former governor Ali Yerlikaya will be on duty as the interior minister in the new cabinet.

Haluk Görgün, the CEO of Aselsan, a major contractor of the Turkish army, became the new chair of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), the top defense agency. Görgün took the CEO post of the company in 2018.

Akif Çağatay Kılıç will also serve as Erdoğan’s new chief adviser on security and foreign policy.