Provinces of Türkiye

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A 1927 map of the provinces of Turkey, which was published before the alphabet reform​

The governor (Turkish: Vali) is the highest-ranking state official in each of Türkiye's 81 provinces (iller), appointed by the central government. Türkiye is a unitary state, and the provinces do not possess sovereign authority. Instead, the governors act as representatives of the central government, primarily the Ministry of the Interior.

While all 81 provinces are governed by a provincial governor, local governments also include elected mayors (belediye başkanı) and municipal councils, who manage municipal services within cities and towns. The role of governors, however, extends beyond administrative duties; they hold broad powers to coordinate and supervise public services, implement national laws, and maintain public order.

Governors are not elected by the public, but are appointed by the President of Türkiye, following a recommendation from the Ministry of the Interior. They often rotate between provinces throughout their careers and are considered neutral civil servants rather than political figures. Their authority includes:

• Commanding the provincial police and gendarmerie forces.
• Overseeing the implementation of laws, regulations, and decisions issued by the central government.
• Supervising elected local governments and, in some cases, intervening in municipal affairs when deemed necessary for the public interest.

In contrast, mayors, especially in metropolitan municipalities such as Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, are directly elected by local voters and wield significant influence in urban administration. However, they remain subordinate to the governor in matters concerning public security and national policy implementation.

Although all governors formally hold the same position, there are practical differences in influence and visibility based on the province's size and strategic importance. For instance, governors of large provinces like Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir often play more prominent roles and coordinate with multiple high-level institutions.

Governors convene with central government representatives during regional coordination meetings. While governors are central figures in provincial administration, they are also part of a highly centralized system, reflecting the Turkish Republic's emphasis on national unity and uniformity across the country, as codified in its Constitution.

 

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Map of Modern Türkiye and its Provinces​

Province & Governor​	Province & Governor​	Province & Governor​	Province & Governor​
Adana Mustafa Büyük​	Adıyaman Mahmut Demirtaş​	Afyonkarahisar Hakan Yusuf Güner​	Ağrı Musa Işın​
Amasya İbrahim Halil Çomaktekin​	Ankara Mehmet Kılıçlar​	Antalya Muammer Türker​	Artvin Kemal Cirit​
Aydın Erol Ayyıldız​	Balıkesir Mustafa Yaman​	Bilecik Ahmet Hamdi Nayir​	Bingöl Yavuz Selim Köşger​
Bitlis Ahmet Çınar​	Bolu Aydın Baruş​	Burdur Hasan Kürklü​	Bursa Münir Karaloğlu​
Çanakkale Hamza Erkal​	Çankırı Vahdettin Özcan​	Çorum Ahmet Kara​	Denizli Şükrü Kocatepe​
Diyarbakır Hüseyin Aksoy​	Edirne Dursun Ali Şahin​	Elazığ Murat Zorluoğlu​	Erzincan Süleyman Kahrama​
Erzurum Ahmet Altıparmak​	Eskişehir Güngör Azim Tuna​	Gaziantep Ali Yerlikaya​	Giresun Hasan Karahan​
Gümüşhane Yücel Yavuz​	Hakkâri Yakup Canbolat​	Hatay Ercan Topaca​	Isparta Vahdettin Özkan​
Mersin Özdemir Çakacak​	Istanbul Vasip Şahin​	İzmir Mustafa Toprak​	Kars Günay Özdemir​
Kastamonu Şehmus Günaydın​	Kayseri Orhan Düzgün​	Kırklareli Esengül Civelek​	Kırşehir Necati Şentürk​
Kocaeli Hasan Basri Güzeloğlu​	Konya Muammer Erol​	Kütahya Şerif Yılmaz​	Malatya Süleyman Kamçı​
Manisa Erdoğan Bektaş​	Kahramanmaraş Mustafa Hakan Güvençer​	Mardin Ömer Faruk Koçak​	Muğla Amir Çiçek​
Muş Seddar Yavuz​	Nevşehir Mehmet Ceylan​	Niğde Necmeddin Kılıç​	Ordu İrfan Balkanlıoğlu​
Rize Ersin Yazıcı​	Sakarya Hüseyin Avni Coş​	Samsun İbrahim Şahin​	Siirt Mustafa Tutulmaz​
Sinop Abdul hamid Azizoğlu​	Sivas Alim Barut​	Tekirdağ Enver Salihoğlu​	Tokat Cevdet Can​
Trabzon Abdil Celil Öz​	Tunceli Osman Kaymak​	Şanlıurfa İzzettin Küçük​	Uşak Ahmet Oku​
Van İbrahim Taşyapan​	Yozgat Abdulkadir Yazıcı​	Zonguldak Ali Kaban​	Aksaray Şeref Ataklı​
Bayburt Yusuf Odabaş​	Karaman Murat Koca​	Kırıkkale Ali Kolat​	Batman Azmi Çelik​
Şırnak Ali İhsan Su​	Bartın Seyfettin Azizoğl​	Ardahan Ahmet Deniz​	Iğdır Davut Haner​
Yalova Selim Cebiroğlu​	Karabük Orhan Alimoğlu​	Kilis Süleyman Tapsız​	Osmaniye Kerem Al​
Düzce Ali Fidan​	​	​	​

 

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The Turkish Gendarmerie (Jandarma Genel Komutanlığı) is one of the key branches of the Turkish Security Forces, responsible for maintaining security and order in rural and semi-urban areas where the local police are not present. The Gendarmerie operates across a wide range of law enforcement duties, including border security, crime prevention, counter-terrorism, public order management, and disaster response. The Gendarmerie is unique in that it combines both military and law enforcement roles, reporting to both the Ministry of Interior in peace times and to the Ministry of National Defense during wartime. It plays a vital role in ensuring national security, particularly in regions outside the reach of local police forces.

The Gendarmerie has a specialized unit known as the Jandarma Özel Harekat (JÖH) or Gendarmerie Special Operations, which is an elite tactical force designed to handle the most high-risk and complex security situations. The JÖH was established in the 1980s and has since become one of the most prominent special forces units in Türkiye, focusing on counter-terrorism operations, hostage rescues, high-risk arrests, and other strategic missions.

The JÖH is particularly renowned for its expertise in countering terrorism, having been heavily involved in operations against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) and other militant groups. They are specially trained for operations in challenging terrains such as mountains, forests, and rural areas, where terrorist activities are more common. Their training is rigorous, incorporating advanced combat tactics, survival skills, parachuting, and various forms of martial arts to prepare them for high-stakes missions.

Beyond counter-terrorism, the JÖH is also deployed in situations that require tactical precision, such as hostage rescues, tackling organized crime, and performing search-and-rescue operations in disaster-stricken areas. They work alongside other law enforcement and military units to ensure the safety of civilians and protect national security.

The unit's operations are often carried out covertly, and they are rarely in the public eye, although their efforts are critical in the ongoing fight against terrorism and maintaining national security. Over the years, the JÖH has earned a reputation for professionalism, discipline, and effectiveness in its missions, often operating in some of the most dangerous and hostile environments in Türkiye. The unit continues to be a central component of the Turkish Gendarmerie's efforts to maintain peace and order in the country.

There are 6,058 trained JÖH Commandos across the Federation. JÖH Commandos exercise jurisdiction within cross-jurisdiction operations.