Erdoğan appoints new ministers for environment, health in cabinet reshuffle

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has replaced the ministers of health and environment, urbanization and climate change, following the resignation of the two ministers.

According to an announcement published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday, Murat Kurum will serve as the environment minister, a position he previously held between 2018 and 2023. Mehmet Özhaseki, his predecessor, stepped down citing health issues.

Kurum was also the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) candidate for İstanbul mayor in the 2024 local elections. He was defeated by a fair margin by the incumbent mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

According to the decree, the Health Ministry will now be led by Prof. Dr. Kemal Memişoğlu, the former İstanbul provincial health director. He replaces Fahrettin Koca, who had served as the Health Minister since 2018 and oversaw the country's response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Koca was one of the two ministers whom Erdoğan kept after winning the 2023 presidential election.

In his first statement after the appointment, Memişoğlu expressed his gratitude on social media: "I have been appointed as the 53rd Minister of Health of the Republic of Türkiye with the appreciation of our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. I will work with all my might to fulfill the heavy responsibility that my duty requires.” (AEK/VK)