Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, a governor ( Turkish: ''Vali'') is an official responsible for the implementation of legislation, constitutional and government decisions in individual

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

. There are 81 governors in Turkey, one for each province, appointed ceremonially by the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

on the recommendation of the Interior Ministry. Governors are legally required to be politically neutral and have power over public offices within their province, including the provincial police force. They also have a certain role in local government, though mayors and councillors are elected to these roles in

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

. The provincial head of security (the police force) also concurrently serves as deputy governor. The ''

Kaymakam Kaymakam, also known by many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been retained a ...

'' (roughly translated as 'sub-governor') has similar functions and roles as the governor but operates on a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

level.

Governors by province

Appointment

The governor is officially appointed (Turkish: ''atanma'') to his or her role by the

president of Turkey The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national govern ...

. The

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

first presents their candidate for approval to the president. The president then formally appoints the candidate as the governor of a province.

Term limits

There are no set term limits for governors, although they can be removed from their position at the will of the Interior Ministry. Governors can also be moved from province to province, meaning that it is not unusual for governors to be appointed to a province in which they have no prior experience or personal connection.

Functions

Governors are mainly tasked with the implementation of government legislation and decisions, meaning that they are senior members of the civil service.

Ceremonial

During ceremonies or formal national holiday celebrations, the governor of a province serves as the most senior state official during provincial events unless a national state official (such as the president) is in attendance. The governor presides over the celebrations and formally accepts any awards presented during a ceremony.

Civil service

One of the most important functions of a governor is to make sure decisions, constitutional requirements and new legislation are implemented within the province over which they preside. They are also tasked with the implementation of any demands of

government ministries Ministry or department (also less commonly used secretariat, office, or directorate) are designations used by first-level executive bodies in the machinery of governments that manage a specific sector of public administration." Энцикло� ...

. In the event that legislation cannot be directly or practically implemented, the governor is responsible for bringing about the conditions in which new legislation is compatible with their province. The governor's powers are decided by government legislation and have the right to issue a 'general command' to implement government decisions, legislation and constitutional requirements.

Local government

Governors have the right to both supervise and reorganise local government positions, which include district and metropolitan municipalities as well as municipal and provincial councillors. Although local elections are held every five years to elect mayors and councillors, the governor (who is unelected) has the right to inspect the proceedings of local administrations as well as conduct any reorganisations that may be deemed necessary. Any legislative changes to local government (such as the 2013 local government reorganisation) are also implemented by the governor.

Command over public institutions

The governor has the right to preside over any matters of state that are not already covered by public institutions within a province, or any matters that do not have an assigned public official to deal with them. The governor can also request public institutions or officials to perform tasks that are related to their aims and purpose if a public institution dealing with said tasks is not available in a province. The governor has the right to appoint and move some public officials from their positions, as well as provide them his or her own personal viewpoint on certain matters. The governor, as mentioned above, can redetermine the remit and the positions of some public officials within a province.

Provincial security

The governor is the highest level of provincial command of both the police forces and the Gendarmerie. The deputy governor concurrently serves as the head of provincial security, who in turn commands both the head of the provincial police force and the head of the provincial Gendarmerie (A

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

). To maintain peace and security, a governor has the right to take certain decisions intended to stop civil disobediences.

Supergovernor

From July 1987 to 2002 there existed the position of a supergovernor in the

OHAL The OHAL region ( tr, Olağanüstü Hâl Bölge Valiliği, lit=Governorship of Region in State of Emergency) was a "super-region" created in Turkey under state of emergency legislation, as part of its approach to the Kurdish–Turkish conflict. Fr ...

region (Governorship of Region in State of Emergency) with extra powers to resettle whole villages. He supervised the provincial governors of up to 13 provinces mainly populated by

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ira ...

. From 1990 on he was able to coordinate the actions between the provincial governors.

Controversies

Since governors are appointed by the government, there have been concerns over whether governors can truly be neutral. This is because they are appointed by a partisan government. Several politicians that have become government ministers, such as Efkan Ala and

Vecdi Gönül Mehmet Vecdi Gönül (; born 29 November 1939) is a Turkish politician who served as the Minister of National Defense from 3 July to 17 November 2015. He previously served in the same position from 2002 to 2011 and was a member of the Parliament ...

, have previously served as governors of multiple provinces. Furthermore, governors have been accused on numerous occasions of acting with bias in favour of the government. İzmir Mayor

Aziz Kocaoğlu Aziz Kocaoğlu ( Erbaa 12 July 1948) is a Turkish politician who was Mayor of İzmir, Turkey's third largest city, from 2004 to 2019. Life and career He was born in 1948 at Erbaa in Tokat Province, a landlocked province in the Black Sea Region ...

accused the governor of İzmir of campaigning for the Justice and Development Party during the 2014 local elections. Governors in Hakkari and Denizli were also accused of forcing public employees to attend President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's controversial 'public opening' rallies before the June 2015 general election. In 2015, the Peoples' Democratic Party issued a manifesto pledge to introduce elections for governors, rather than appointing them through the Interior Ministry.

Central governors

Besides the 81 provincial governors, some governors who have previously served in a province may be reassigned as a 'central governor' ''(Turkish: Merkez Valisi)''. This post does not carry with it any active responsibilities and is effectively a means of terminating a governor's term without withdrawing their privileges or suspending their pay (though their wages are reduced in comparison to provincial governors). The 'centre' ''(merkez)'' refers to the

, where a central governor is given a small office but have no role until they are reassigned to govern a province. Central governors may visit the Interior Ministry whenever they wish. However, central governors may be given special tasks should the Interior Minister deem it necessary. Previously, it was possible for a governor to legal contest their reassignment from a provincial to a central governor in an attempt to remain in an active gubernatorial role, though this privilege has since been removed. There are currently around 99 central governors, though this number changes frequently along with re-organisation decrees issued by the government.

List of current governors

Recent changes

The government usually appoints or moves serving governors to different positions through cabinet decrees. Notable decrees are listed below.

References

External links

Official website of the Interior Ministry
{{Governors of Turkey Gubernatorial titles Government occupations Turkish governmental institutions