Süleyman Soylu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of the Interior | |
| In office 31 August 2016 – 4 June 2023 | |
| President | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan |
| Prime Minister | Binali Yıldırım |
| Preceded by | Efkan Ala |
| Succeeded by | Ali Yerlikaya |
| Minister of Labour and Social Security | |
| In office 24 November 2015 – 31 August 2016 | |
| Prime Minister | Ahmet Davutoğlu Binali Yıldırım |
| Preceded by | Ahmet Erdem |
| Succeeded by | Mehmet Müezzinoğlu |
| Deputy Leader of the Justice and Development Party | |
| Assumed office 30 September 2012 | |
| Leader | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Ahmet Davutoğlu Binali Yıldırım |
| Member of the Grand National Assembly | |
| Assumed office 2 June 2023 | |
| Constituency | Istanbul(II) (2023) |
| In office 7 June 2015 – 7 July 2018 | |
| Constituency | Trabzon (June 2015,Nov 2015) |
| In office 7 July 2018 – 10 July 2018 | |
| Constituency | Istanbul(II) (2018) |
| Leader of the Democrat Party | |
| In office 6 January 2008 – 16 May 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Mehmet Ağar |
| Succeeded by | Hüsamettin Cindoruk |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1969-11-21)21 November 1969 (age 55) |
| Political party | True Path Party(1987–2007) Democrat Party(2007–2010) Justice and Development Party(2012–present) |
| Spouse | Hamdiye Soylu |
| Children | 2 |
| Cabinet | 64th,65th |
| Signature |  |
| Website | suleymansoylu |
Süleyman Soylu (Turkish:[sylɛjmansojˈɫu]; born 21 November 1969) is aTurkish politician. He is a deputy chairman of theJustice and Development Party. He previously served as theMinister of Labour and Social Security from November 2015 to August 2016 and theMinister of the Interior from August 2016 to June 2023. He is a former leader of theDemocrat Party (DP).
Soylu was appointed as the Interior Minister after the surprise resignation ofEfkan Ala, with Soylu commenting that his appointment 'came as a surprise' to him as well.[1]
Soylu was known for his divisive style, often accusing the opposition of "siding with terrorists" and imposing restrictive measures on opposition-controlled municipalities.[2][3] His re-appointment as Interior Minister after Erdoğan'selection victory in 2018 was protested by opposition parties, whose MPs turned their backs as Soylu took the oath of office in Parliament.[4] He removed large numbers ofPeoples' Democratic Party (HDP) mayors and officials from their offices due to alleged affiliation with theKurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), replacing ousted mayors with Ankara-appointed trustees.[5] While these actions have received positive responses from some nationalist politicians, opposition parties and human rights groups have condemned the removals.[6][7] He is seen as possible successor as leader ofAK Party and president Erdogan.[8]
Süleyman Soylu was born inIstanbul on 21 November 1969. He graduated fromIstanbul University Faculty of Management.[9] He started business career inIstanbul Stock Exchange in 1990.[10] In 1996 he established the insurance company "Engin Insurance and Mediation Services".[11] In January 2021 he and his son Levent Soylu founded "Esigortan Insurance Agency Services", a new insurance company.[11]
He started politics atDemocrat Party (DP)Istanbul Youth Branch in 1987. He took the positions of member of board of directorates, and chairman of the organization at youth branch of Democrat PartyIstanbul.
In 1995, he was elected to the board of directorates inGaziosmanpaşa branch, and with the congress held on 17 July 1995, he was elected as the chairman of the district at the age of 25. On 18 April 1999, he announced his candidacy for the mayor ofGaziosmanpaşa municipality which isdistrict of Istanbul.
He became DPIstanbul Chairman on 29 April 1999 which made him the youngest chairman in the Turkey at that time. He resigned from the presidency, which lasted 3.5 years, to run for the elections to become a Member of theParliament of Turkey in 2002.Süleyman Soylu was elected for party leadership with the 4th Extraordinary Congress ofDemocrat Party on 6 January 2008. After being reelected for the leadership at the 9th Statutory Congress on 15 November 2008, he led his party for29 March 2009 local elections. On 16 May 2009, at the congress, which took place according to his will, his party leadership ended.[12]
Afterwards, he participated in many conferences and panels upon invitations coming from various universities and civil societies all over the country.
Süleyman Soylu realized the vital importance of the change of constitution package, which was opened forreferendum of 12 September 2010 for the transition and democratization of Turkey, organized a series of seminars with the title of “Democracy meetings”, and together with his friends by travelling all aroundTurkey, shared grounds for voting “yes”. Following these activities, he was expelled from his party.[13]
Soylu was invited to be anAKP politician byRecep Tayyip Erdoğan, then AKP Chairman andPrime Minister. Soylu joined the AKP on 5 September 2012.[14] On 30 September 2012, with the 4th Statutory General Congress of AKP, he was elected for the Central Board of Executives, and became Deputy Chairman responsible forR&D Department.
He served as 'Minister of Labour and Social Security' in thethird Davutoğlu Cabinet (24 November 2015 – 24 May 2016) and in theYıldırım Cabinet until 31 August 2016. Then, PMYıldırım surprisingly appointed himMinister of the Interior after he had sackedEfkan Ala.[citation needed]
On 10 April 2020, the Turkish government announced that a 48-hour curfew would be imposed in 31 cities due to thecoronavirus pandemic. It was announced approximately 2 or 3 hours before the start of the curfew and causedpanic buying.[15] On 12 April 2020, Soylu announced his resignation, saying he was responsible for the chaos.[16] However, PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan rejected his resignation request.[17][18] Before Erdoğan's rejection of the resignation, the hashtag "We don't accept the resignation,” #İstifayıKabulEtmiyoruz, quickly became a top trend on Twitter following the resignation of Soylu, a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) favourite among supporters.[19]
In 2021, crime leaderSedat Peker claimed that cocaine trafficking from Colombia to Turkey involved interior minister Süleyman Soylu and the son of former prime ministerBinali Yıldırım.[20][21] Süleyman Soylu was also blamed for providing thousands of guns to some civilian groups withSADAT during2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt.[22][23] Peker also invited the public prosecutor to search for details to sue him.[citation needed]
AsInterior Minister, Soylu has replaced at least 45 out of 65 mayors from municipalities won by the pro-KurdishPeoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in the2019 local elections with Ankara-appointed trustees over alleged affiliation with theKurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).[24] At least 21 of these mayors were jailed.[24] Later in February 2021, Soylu had more than 700 HDP district and provincial chairpersons arrested.[5] These actions received positive responses from some nationalist politicians includingDevlet Bahçeli of theNationalist Movement Party (MHP), but inspired condemnation from members of the oppositionRepublican People's Party (CHP) and human rights groups, withHuman Rights Watch describing charges leveled against HDP officials as "trumped up" and "politically motivated".[6][7][25] After Istanbul mayorEkrem İmamoğlu visited some of the jailed mayors, Soylu defended the arrests by saying "they’ve never denied, to this day, having a connection to the PKK", and threatened to "ruin" İmamoğlu if he continued "busying [himself] with other affairs".[26]
He used a business jet owned bySezgin Baran Korkmaz airlineBorajet during theConstitutional Referendum in 2017.[27] This was reported after he was accused of having warned Korkmaz to leave Turkey before he was apprehended.[27]
Media related toSüleyman Soylu at Wikimedia Commons
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Ministry of Labour and Social Security 24 November 2015 – 31 August 2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ministry of the Interior 31 August 2016 – 4 June 2023 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
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