Elections: Erdogan was sworn in for the second term as president

Booth: 01:13 | Reading time: 3 minutes

R President Tayyip Erdogan was sworn in on Monday for his second term as President of Turkey. On June 24, the re-elected leader was sworn in for the next five-year term in the capital, Ankara. Erdogan will have more power through the controversial new presidential system than any of his predecessors of past decades.

He swears "in my honor" to work impartially to fulfill his duty, Erdogan said during the swearing in of parliament. At a subsequent celebration at the presidential palace in Ankara, he described the profound change that accompanies the new presidential system as a "fresh start".

He will be the president of all 81 million Turks, said Erdogan. "We do not want to be the lord, but the servants of the people," said the head of state.

Erdogan then introduced the first cabinet under the new system. The new finance minister will be his son-in-law Berat Albayrak. The new Defense Minister will be Chief of Staff Hulusi Akar. Mevlüt Cavusoglu remains Minister of Foreign Affairs. The former head of the Department of Civil Protection, Fuat Oktay, becomes the only vice-president.

One of the most important changes is the incorporation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is also expected that former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim will become Speaker of Parliament.

The appointment of Albayrak as finance minister was a surprise. The Turkish lira lost 3.5% of its value against the dollar after the announcement of the post. Albayrak is the husband of the eldest daughter of Erdogan Ezra and former Minister of Energy.

The ceremony of the new government was overshadowed by the train crash of 24 dead and hundreds wounded in northwestern Turkey. Erdogan said that a planned dance and laser show had been canceled because of the accident.

The ceremony was attended by foreign leaders, but little of Europe. Instead, the main allies of Turkey, South America, Africa and the Middle East were represented, including Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro [19659016]. In the new system, the head of state is at the same time the head of government and holds all the executive power. Erdogan can then issue presidential decrees even without the special rights of a state of emergency, which prevails in Turkey since the coup attempt of the state two years ago.

Shortly before Erdogan's swearing-in, more than 18,500 civil servants were fired by decree. They are accused of "links with terrorist organizations". The head of state had promised to lift the state of emergency before the elections.

The critical newspaper Cumhuriyet wrote Monday on the beginning of a "unipersonal and partisan regime". In the government newspaper "Yeni Safak", however, there was talk of a "historical day".