Governor (Turkey)

In Turkey, a governor (Turkish: Vali) is an official responsible for the implementation of legislation, constitutional and government decisions in individual provinces. There are 81 governors in Turkey, ^[1] one for each province, appointed ceremonially by the president 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. The provincial head of security (the police force) also concurrently serves as deputy governor.

The Kaymakam (roughly translated as 'sub-governor') has similar functions and roles as the governor but operates on a district level. ^[2]

Governors by province

Ankara

Kırklareli

Edirne

Tekirdağ

Çanakkale

Balıkesir

Bursa

Yalova

Istanbul

Kocaeli

Sakarya

Düzce

Zonguldak

Bolu

Bilecik

Eskişehir

Kütahya

Manisa

İzmir

Aydın

Muğla

Denizli

Burdur

Uşak

Afyon

Isparta

Antalya

Konya

Mersin

Karaman

Aksaray

Kırşehir

Kırıkkale

Çankırı

Karabük

Bartın

Kastamonu

Sinop

Çorum

Yozgat

Nevşehir

Niğde

Adana

Hatay

Osmaniye

K'Maraş

Kayseri

Sivas

Tokat

Amasya

Samsun

Ordu

Giresun

Erzincan

Malatya

Gaziantep

Kilis

Şanlıurfa

Adıyaman

Gümüşhane

Trabzon

Rize

Bayburt

Erzurum

Artvin

Ardahan

Kars

Ağrı

Iğdır

Tunceli

Elâzığ

Diyarbakır

Mardin

Batman

Siirt

Şırnak

Bitlis

Bingöl

Muş

Van

Hakkâri

Appointment

The governor is officially appointed (Turkish: atanma) by the president of Turkey. The Ministry of the Interior first presents their candidate for approval to the president. The president then formally appoints the candidate as the governor of a province. ^[3]

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.^{[ citation needed ]}

Functions

Lale Aytaman (Muğla), the first of the only three female governors to ever be appointed in the history of the Turkish Republic, with former president Turgut Özal in 1991

Governors are mainly tasked with the implementation of government legislation and decisions, meaning that they are senior members of the civil service. ^[4]

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.^{[ citation needed ]}

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. 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.^{[ citation needed ]}

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. ^[5]

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.^{[ citation needed ]}

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). To maintain peace and security, a governor has the right to take certain decisions intended to stop civil disobediences.^{[ citation needed ]}

Supergovernor

From July 1987 to 2002 there existed the position of a supergovernor in the OHAL 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. From 1990 on he was able to coordinate the actions between the provincial governors. ^[6]

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, 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 accused the governor of İzmir of campaigning for the Justice and Development Party during the 2014 local elections. ^[7] 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. ^[8] In 2015, the Peoples' Democratic Party issued a manifesto pledge to introduce elections for governors, rather than appointing them through the Interior Ministry. ^[9]

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 Ministry of the Interior, 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. ^[10]

There are currently around 99 central governors, though this number changes frequently along with re-organisation decrees issued by the government. ^[11]

List of current governors

Province Governor Term start Adana Mustafa Büyük 23 May 2014 Adıyaman Mahmut Demirtaş 3 August 2012 Afyonkarahisar Hakan Yusuf Güner 23 May 2014 Ağrı Musa Işın 20 February 2015 Amasya İbrahim Halil Çomaktekin 2 August 2013 Ankara Mehmet Kılıçlar 15 September 2014 Antalya Muammer Türker 15 September 2014 Artvin Kemal Cirit 2 August 2013 Aydın Erol Ayyıldız 2 August 2013 Balıkesir Mustafa Yaman 15 August 2014 Bilecik Ahmet Hamdi Nayir 13 February 2014 Bingöl Yavuz Selim Köşger 19 February 2015 Bitlis Ahmet Çınar 3 August 2015 Bolu Aydın Baruş 16 February 2015 Burdur Hasan Kürklü 23 May 2014 Bursa Münir Karaloğlu 4 August 2013 Çanakkale Hamza Erkal 3 August 2015 Çankırı Vahdettin Özcan 17 August 2011 Çorum Ahmet Kara 15 September 2014 Denizli Şükrü Kocatepe 15 September 2014 Diyarbakır Hüseyin Aksoy 15 September 2014 Edirne Dursun Ali Şahin 23 May 2014 Elazığ Murat Zorluoğlu 16 February 2015 Erzincan Süleyman Kahraman 15 September 2014 Erzurum Ahmet Altıparmak 16 May 2013 Eskişehir Güngör Azim Tuna 16 May 2013 Gaziantep Ali Yerlikaya 19 February 2015 Giresun Hasan Karahan 3 August 2013 Gümüşhane Yücel Yavuz 23 May 2014 Hakkâri Yakup Canbolat 23 May 2014 Hatay Ercan Topaca 15 September 2014 Isparta Vahdettin Özkan 3 August 2013 Mersin Özdemir Çakacak 15 September 2014 Istanbul Vasip Şahin 15 September 2014 İzmir Mustafa Toprak 3 May 2013 Kars Günay Özdemir 23 May 2014 Kastamonu Şehmus Günaydın 23 May 2014 Kayseri Orhan Düzgün 16 May 2013 Kırklareli Esengül Civelek 15 September 2014 Kırşehir Necati Şentürk 15 September 2014 Kocaeli Hasan Basri Güzeloğlu 15 September 2014

Province Governor Term start Konya Muammer Erol 2 August 2013 Kütahya Şerif Yılmaz 8 May 2013 Malatya Süleyman Kamçı 15 May 2014 Manisa Erdoğan Bektaş 23 May 2014 Kahramanmaraş Mustafa Hakan Güvençer 15 May 2014 Mardin Ömer Faruk Koçak 16 February 2015 Muğla Amir Çiçek 15 September 2014 Muş Seddar Yavuz 3 August 2015 Nevşehir Mehmet Ceylan 9 May 2013 Niğde Necmeddin Kılıç 2 August 2013 Ordu İrfan Balkanlıoğlu 23 May 2014 Rize Ersin Yazıcı 23 May 2014 Sakarya Hüseyin Avni Coş 23 May 2014 Samsun İbrahim Şahin 15 September 2014 Siirt Mustafa Tutulmaz 23 May 2014 Sinop TBD TBD Sivas Alim Barut 3 March 2014 Tekirdağ Enver Salihoğlu 16 February 2015 Tokat Cevdet Can 23 May 2014 Trabzon Abdil Celil Öz 2 August 2013 Tunceli Osman Kaymak 23 May 2014 Şanlıurfa İzzettin Küçük 16 February 2014 Uşak Ahmet Okur 3 August 2015 Van İbrahim Taşyapan 19 February 2015 Yozgat Abdulkadir Yazıcı 3 August 2012 Zonguldak Ali Kaban 2 August 2013 Aksaray Şeref Ataklı 13 February 2014 Bayburt Yusuf Odabaş 15 September 2014 Karaman Murat Koca 3 August 2012 Kırıkkale Ali Kolat 3 August 2012 Batman Azmi Çelik 13 February 2014 Şırnak Ali İhsan Su 19 February 2015 Bartın Seyfettin Azizoğlu 23 May 2014 Ardahan Ahmet Deniz 23 May 2014 Iğdır Davut Haner 13 February 2014 Yalova Selim Cebiroğlu 15 September 2014 Karabük Orhan Alimoğlu 16 February 2014 Kilis Süleyman Tapsız 3 August 2012 Osmaniye Kerem Al 15 September 2014 Düzce Ali Fidan 16 February 2015

Recent changes

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

Date	Decree №	Governors affected
1 August 2012	2012/3511	40
3 May 2013	2013/4699	24
2 August 2013	2013/5197	25
13 February 2014	2014/5916	14
21 May 2014	2013/6366	31
15 September 2014	2014/6780	31
16 February 2015	2015/7295	17
3 August 2015	2015/7991	4

References

1. "Cumhuriyet Gazetesi - Zeynep Oral: "Yuh Olsun: 81 İlde 1 Kadın Vali!"". cumhuriyet.com.tr. 21 September 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
2. "Kaymakamın Görev ve Yetkileri - T.C. PALU KAYMAKAMLIĞI". palu.gov.tr. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
3. Jongerden, Joost (2007-05-28). The Settlement Issue in Turkey and the Kurds: An Analysis of Spatial Policies, Modernity and War . BRILL. pp.  141. ISBN   9789047420118.
4. "Valinin Görevleri Nelerdir ?". Buyutec.Net. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
5. "Valinin Görevleri Nelerdir?". 2020 Güncel Bilgi (in Turkish). 2018-01-23. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
6. Jongerden, Joost (2007-05-28). The Settlement Issue in Turkey and the Kurds: An Analysis of Spatial Policies, Modernity and War. BRILL. ISBN   9789047420118.
7. "Kocaoğlu'ndan İzmir Valisi'ne veryansın". Haber7. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
8. Müjgan Yağmur. "Bu da oldu…Hakkari Valiliği'nden AKP mitingine katılmayanlara tehdit!". Taraf Gazetesi. Archived from the original on 20 July 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
9. "HDP Seçim Beyannamesi metninin tamamı". Sabah. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
10. "Milli Gazete - Hak Geldi, Batıl Zail Oldu - Merkez valiliğine atanmak ne demek?". milligazete.com.tr. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
11. "Merkez Valisi kimdir, kaç Merkez Valisi var? 16-09-2014". emlakkulisi.com. Retrieved 30 June 2015.

External links

• Official website of the Interior Ministry