The vice president of Turkey, officially the vice president of the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı Yardımcısı), is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the

government of Turkey The Government of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükûmeti) is the national government of Turkey. It is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative democracy and a constitutional republic within a pluriform multi-party ...

, after 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 ...

. The vice president is also a statutory member of the Cabinet, National Security Council and Supreme Military Council.

Fuat Oktay Fuat Oktay (born 1964) is a Turkish politician, civil servant and academic serving as the first and current vice president of Turkey since 10 July 2018. An independent, he previously served as undersecretary to the prime minister of Turkey fro ...

is the first and current vice president of Turkey since his appointment to office on 9 July 2018.

Origin

The office of

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

was created with a referendum on constitutional amendments on 16 April 2017 and entered into force after the presidential election in 2018, when the new president took office on 9 July 2018. With the said referendum,

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 ...

changed from a parliamentary republic to a

presidential republic A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separation ...

was appointed as the first vice president by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Constitutional conditions

The constitution of Turkey stipulates the following conditions about the vice-presidency: * 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 ...

may appoint one or more vice presidents after being elected. * If the presidential office becomes vacant for any reason, the presidential election shall be held within forty-five days. The vice president shall act as and exercise the powers of the President until the next president is elected. * In cases where the President is temporarily absent from his or her duties on account of illness or travelling abroad, the vice president acts as the President of the Republic and exercises his or her powers. * The vice president shall be appointed from among those who are eligible to be a deputy for the Turkish parliament. The vice president shall take oath before the Turkish Grand National Assembly as stated in the Article 81. Members of the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Const ...

appointed as a vice president lose their membership to the parliament.

Accountability

According to the constitutional amendments approved in the 2017 referendum, the

Grand National Assembly Great National Assembly or Grand National Assembly may refer to: * Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia, an assembly of Romanian delegates that declared the unification of Transylvania and Romania * Great National Assembly (Socialist Republic of R ...

may initiate an investigation of the

, the vice president or any member of the Cabinet upon the proposal of simple majority of its total members, and within a period less than a month, the approval of three-fifths of the total members. The investigation would be carried out by a commission of fifteen members of the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, each nominated by the political parties in proportion to their representation therein. The Commission would submit its report indicating the outcome of the investigation to the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

within two months. If the investigation is not completed within this period, the Commission's time renewed for another month. Within ten days of its submission to the Speaker, the report would be distributed to all members of the

, and ten days after its distribution, the report would be discussed on the floor. Upon the approval of two thirds of the total number of the

by secret vote, the person or persons, about whom the investigation was conducted, may be tried before the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

. The trial would be finalized within three months, and if not, a one-time additional period of three months shall be granted. The deputies of the

who are convicted of a crime by the Supreme Criminal Tribunal for a crime that prevents them from being elected shall lose their mandate.

List of vice presidents of Turkey (2018–present)

;Political party

References

{{Reflist Government of Turkey

2017 establishments in Turkey Titles held only by one person