Governor (Turkey)

In Turkey, a governor (Turkish: Vali) is an official responsible for the implementation of legislation, constitutional and government decisions in individual provinces.

Governors are legally required to be politically neutral and have power over public offices within their province, including the provincial police force.

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

[citation needed] 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.

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.

Several politicians that have become government ministers, such as Efkan Ala and Vecdi Gönül, have previously served as governors of multiple provinces.

[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.

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.