Sebahattin Öztürk (born 1 July 1962) is a Turkish politician, civil servant and bureaucrat who served as the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

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 ...

between March and August 2015. Previously the Undersecretary to the Interior Ministry since 2014, he took over as Minister from Justice and Development Party politician

Efkan Ala Efkan Ala (born 21 February 1965) is a Turkish politician and former civil servant who served as the Minister of the Interior from November 2015 to August 2016;. He previously held the same post from 2013 to June 2015 despite not being a member ...

three months prior to the June 2015 general election, as required by Article 114 of the

Turkish Constitution The Constitution of the Republic of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasası), also known as the Constitution of 1982, is Turkey's fundamental law. It establishes the organization of the government and sets out the principles and rules of ...

. He is, formally, of no political affiliation.

Early life and career

Öztürk was born in

Çaykara Çaykara ( Romeika: ''Kadahor'', ''Κατωχώρι'') is a town and district of Trabzon Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. As of 2014, the District Mayor of Çaykara is Hanefi Tok ( AKP). Çaykara village lies in a V-shaped valley along t ...

, a district in

Trabzon Province Trabzon Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Located in a strategically important region, Trabzon is one of the oldest trade port cities in Anatolia. Neighbouring provinces are Giresun to the west, Gümüşhane to th ...

in 1962. Graduating from Istanbul University Faculty of Political Science and Public Governance in 1986, Öztürk successfully completed an exam to become a ''

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 ...

'' (a sub-governor of a provincial district) in 1987. He learnt

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Brighton University The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieve ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

before beginning his term as a Kaymakam of the

Osmangazi Osmangazi is one of the central metropolitan districts of the city of Bursa in Bursa Province, as well as the fourth largest overall municipality in Turkey. The municipality has a population of approximately 778,843 as of 2012. On its own, it wo ...

district of

Bursa Province Bursa Province ( tr, ) is a province in Turkey along the Sea of Marmara coast in northwestern Anatolia. It borders Balıkesir to the west, Kütahya to the south, Bilecik and Sakarya to the east, Kocaeli to the northeast and Yalova to the ...

in 1990. While serving in this capacity, he was appointed as the Governor of

Niğde Province Niğde Province ( tr, ) is a province in the southern part of Central Anatolia, Turkey. Population is 341,412 (2013 est) of which 141,360 live in the city of Niğde. The population was 348,081 in 2000 and 305,861 in 1990. It covers an area of 7, ...

in 2007, serving until 2009 where he was restationed as the Governor of

Erzurum Province Erzurum Province ( tr, Erzurum ili) is a province of Turkey in the Eastern Anatolia Region of the country. The capital of the province is the city of Erzurum. It is bordered by the provinces of Kars and Ağrı to the east, Muş and Bingöl to the ...

. Serving in this capacity until 2013, he was restationed for a second time as the Governor of

Antalya la, Attalensis grc, Ἀτταλειώτης , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 07xxx , area_code = (+90) 242 , registration_plate = 07 , blank_name = Licence plate ...

, serving for a year until 16 September 2014. He is married with two children.

Minister of the Interior

On 15 September 2014, he was appointed as the Undersecretary to the Interior Ministry, vacating his position as Governor of Antalya for this reason. 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. The other ministers who replaced partisan ministers due to the constitutional requirement were

Kenan İpek Kenan İpek (born 5 October 1959) is a Turkish legal prosecutor and judge who served as the Minister of Justice of Turkey from 7 March to 17 November 2015. Having previously served as the Undersecretary to the Justice Ministry, İpek succeeded ...

, who replaced

Bekir Bozdağ Bekir Bozdağ (born 1 April 1965) is a Turkish lawyer and politician of Kurdish origin and current Minister of Justice.http://www.rudaw.net/turkish/middleeast/turkey/060520162 On 6 July 2011 he was appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister in the ...

as the

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and

Feridun Bilgin Feridun Bilgin (born 1964) is a Turkish civil servant and politician who served as the Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication of Turkey from 7 March to 17 November 2015. Formerly the Undersecretary to the Ministry, Bilgin took over f ...

, replacing

Lütfi Elvan Lütfi Elvan (born 12 March 1962) is a Turkish politician. Elvan has served as the Minister of Finance and Treasury of Turkey from November 2020 to December 2021. He previously served as the Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication f ...

as the Transport, 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 President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan behind closed doors to secure necessary preparations for the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in time for the 2015 general election. Such preparations apparently included an allegedly staged operation in

Ağrı Province The Ağrı Province ( tr, Ağrı ili, ku, Parêzgeha Agiriyê) is a province in eastern Turkey, bordering Iran to the east, Kars to the north, Erzurum to the northwest, Muş and Bitlis to the southwest, Van to the south, and Iğdır to the no ...

against the Kurdish separatist

PKK The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of sout ...

organisation in order to increase the AKP's popularity.

Labour Day protests

On 1 May 2015, he was criticised for endorsing and committing to carry out a series of decisions made by the Governor of

İstanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_in ...

in relation to the planned

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...

protests in

Taksim Square Taksim Square ( tr, Taksim Meydanı, ), situated in Beyoğlu in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a major tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops, and hotels. It is considered the heart of modern Istanbul, with the c ...

. 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.

External links

Biography of the Minister from the Ministry of the Interior

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozturk, Sebahattin Living people 1962 births People from Çaykara Governors of Antalya Erzurum Province Niğde Province Ministers of the Interior of Turkey Istanbul University alumni

Early life and career

Minister of the Interior

Labour Day protests

See also

External links

References