Former Belgian deputy Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas becomes the new minister of Turkey

Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas, a former deputy and member of the Brussels parliament, has been appointed as the new Minister for Family and Social Services of the Republic of Turkey. She previously served as the ambassador of Turkey in Algeria since the beginning of 2020.

The newly re-elected President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, recently announced his new cabinet of ministers and named Mrs. Goktas as the new minister. She holds dual nationality in Belgium and Turkey. Reading out the oath of office, Erdogan vowed to protect Turkey's independence and integrity, to abide by the constitution, and to follow the principles of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern secular republic.

Özdemir was elected to the Brussels Assembly from the CDH Party on June 24, 2009, thus becoming the first headscarved MP to be elected in a European country. In 2015, ex-Belgian Deputy from Democratic Humanist Centre (CDH) Mahinur Özdemir resisted pressure from members of her party and refused to call the 1915 incidents a "genocide." As a result, CDH's ethical committee expelled her from the party.