Suleyman Soylu named as new Turkish interior minister

ANKARA

Labor and Social Security Minister Suleyman Soylu was appointed as Turkey’s new interior minister after the incumbent, Efkan Ala, resigned, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Wednesday.

A Justice and Development (AK) Party lawmaker for Trabzon on Turkey’s Black Sea coast, 47-year-old Soylu was appointed as new interior minister after Bursa deputy Ala resigned, Yildirim told reporters after a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Yildirim also confirmed that Bursa deputy, Mehmet Muezzinoglu, had been appointed as Turkey’s labor and social security minister.

*Diyar Guldogan contributed this story from Ankara