Sebahattin Öztürk | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of the Interior | |
| In office 7 March 2015 – 28 August 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | Ahmet Davutoğlu |
| Preceded by | Efkan Ala |
| Succeeded by | Selami Altınok |
| Undersecretary to the Interior Ministry | |
| In office 15 September 2014 – 7 March 2015 | |
| Minister | Efkan Ala |
| Preceded by | Seyfullah Hacımüftüoğlu |
| Succeeded by | Mükerrem Ünlüer |
| 39thGovernor of Antalya | |
| In office 8 May 2013 – 16 September 2014 | |
| President | Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip Erdoğan |
| Preceded by | Ahmet Altıparmak |
| Succeeded by | Muammer Türker |
| 43rdGovernor of Erzurum | |
| In office 4 October 2009 – 8 May 2013 | |
| President | Abdullah Gül |
| Preceded by | Sami Bulut |
| Succeeded by | Ahmet Altıparmak |
| 41stGovernor of Niğde | |
| In office 30 November 2007 – 4 October 2009 | |
| President | Abdullah Gül |
| Preceded by | Gündüz Beder |
| Succeeded by | Alim Barut |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1962-07-01)July 1, 1962 (age 63) |
| Alma mater | Istanbul University |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Website | Government website |
Sebahattin Öztürk (born 1 July 1962) is aTurkish politician, civil servant and bureaucrat who served as theMinister of the Interior of Turkey between March and August 2015. Previously the Undersecretary to the Interior Ministry since 2014, he took over as Minister fromJustice and Development Party politicianEfkan Ala three months prior to theJune 2015 general election, as required by Article 114 of theTurkish Constitution. He is, formally, of no political affiliation.
Öztürk was born inÇaykara, a district inTrabzon Province in 1962. Graduating fromIstanbul University Faculty of Political Science and Public Governance in 1986, Öztürk successfully completed an exam to become aKaymakam (a sub-governor of aprovincial district) in 1987. He learnt English atBrighton University in the United Kingdom before beginning his term as a Kaymakam of theOsmangazi district ofBursa Province in 1990. While serving in this capacity, he was appointed as the Governor ofNiğde Province in 2007, serving until 2009 where he was restationed as the Governor ofErzurum Province.[1] Serving in this capacity until 2013, he was restationed for a second time as the Governor ofAntalya, serving for a year until 16 September 2014.[2]
He is married and has two children.
On 15 September 2014, he was appointed as the Undersecretary to the Interior Ministry, vacating his position as Governor of Antalya for this reason.[3] With the Constitution requiring that the serving partisan Minister should vacate his position to his or her Undersecretary at least three months before a general election, Öztürk took over from Efkan Ala as Minister of the Interior on 7 March 2015 and is due to serve until a new government is formed after the election.[4] The other ministers who replaced partisan ministers due to the constitutional requirement wereKenan İpek, who replacedBekir Bozdağ as theMinister of Justice andFeridun Bilgin, replacingLütfi Elvan as theTransport, Maritime and Communications Minister.
Despite being the Minister of the Interior, it was alleged that Efkan Ala continued as the de facto Minister despite resigning in March, working directly with PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan behind closed doors to secure necessary preparations for theJustice and Development Party (AKP) in time for the 2015 general election. Such preparations apparently included an allegedly staged operation inAğrı Province against the Kurdish separatistPKK organisation in order to increase the AKP's popularity.[5]
On 1 May 2015, he was criticised for endorsing and committing to carry out a series of decisions made by the Governor ofIstanbul in relation to the plannedMay Day protests inTaksim Square. The police response to Labour day protests in Turkey have been accused of being notoriously heavy-handed, with the government taking the decision to close of Taksim Square entirely in preparation for Labour Day 2015.[6]
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