Turkey’s Erdogan to chair cabinet in unprecedented move

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday announced he would chair a cabinet meeting in January, a move unprecedented for a Turkish head of state in recent times. Erdogan, a pious Muslim accused of authoritarianism by critics, led the Turkish government from 2003 to 2014 as prime minister but in August this year won the first ever direct presidential elections to become head of state. Previous presidents - including Erdogan’s predecessor and one-time close comrade Abdullah Gul - performed a largely ceremonial role but the office has been transformed in the four months since he took charge.

Politics Erdogan