Turkey’s new foreign, EU ministers take over from predecessors

Minister of EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu was appointed the new foreign minister to replace Ahmet Davutoğlu, while Volkan Bozkır took over the EU Ministry after the new Cabinet was announced on Aug. 29.

Çavuşoğlu is familiar with European institutions and EU affairs, having remarkable experience in the Council of Europe.

In his first statement after the announcement of the new Cabinet, Çavuşoğlu was thankful for his assignment to this “important and honorable post,” and said he would do his best “for the sake of the country and foreign policy working night and day.”

“I am happy to be Davutoğlu’s successor,” Çavuşoğlu told reporters Aug. 29 at Kocatepe Mosque where he attended Friday prayers with the prime minister.

He mentioned “300-year-old ties” with Davutoğlu, citing both of the ministers’ Yörük (Turkish nomads in Anatolia) ancestry.

Minister Çavuşoğlu said he believed in the success of the new EU minister Volkan Bozkır, saying he has known him for a long time.

Çavuşoğlu, a founding member of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), had been minister of EU affairs since 2013.

He replaced EU Minister Egemen Bağış in 2013 after Bağış was accused of bribery following the Dec. 17, 2013 graft probe and bribery investigation.

Elected to Parliament first in 2002, he has been representing the province of Antalya.

Çavuşoğlu served as deputy chairman of the AKP in charge of foreign affairs and was chairman of the Turkey-USA Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Caucus in 2013.

He is a familiar individual for member...