- Oct 3, 2018
- 3,326

The Ministry oversees national law enforcement through its key agencies: the General Directorate of Security (Emniyet Genel Müdürlüğü), the Gendarmerie General Command (Jandarma Genel Komutanlığı), the Coast Guard Command (Sahil Güvenlik Komutanlığı), and departments focused on civil registration, immigration, disaster management, and local governance. The Ministry is headquartered in the Bakanlıklar district of Ankara. As of [insert current year], the Minister of Interior is Ali Karahan, a seasoned law enforcement official who has held the position since 2016.
The modern Turkish Interior Ministry traces its roots back to the early Republic, but it was significantly restructured in the early 2000s to better coordinate national and regional law enforcement and security, especially in the face of terrorism and irregular migration. The Ministry plays a key role in counter-terrorism operations, public order, border security, and the management of civil emergencies.
Minister Ali Karahan is known for his deep ties within the national police and his emphasis on modernization and data-driven policing. He is recognized as an effective administrator and a respected leader within Türkiye’s internal security establishment.
Born on March 3, 1963, in Sivas, Karahan began his career in 1985 as a police officer in Istanbul. He initially served in the city’s diplomatic protection unit and later moved into criminal investigations.
In 1988, he was promoted to the rank of team leader within the Public Order Branch (Asayiş Şube Müdürlüğü). In 1990, he enrolled in the Police Academy in Ankara, graduating in 1994. Upon graduation, he worked as a case officer in the Organized Crime Division of Ankara’s Police Department.
By 1998, Karahan had risen to deputy chief of the Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Department (Kaçakçılık ve Organize Suçlarla Mücadele Daire Başkanlığı). In 2002, he became head of the Counter-Terrorism Department in the Eastern Anatolia region, and later, in 2007, he was appointed as the Provincial Police Chief (İl Emniyet Müdürü) of İzmir.
His reputation for effective policing and institutional reform led to his appointment as Deputy Minister of Interior in 2013, and in 2016, he assumed the position of Minister of Interior.

Vladimir Kolokoltsev |
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