Who is the new AFAD President Ali Hamza Pehlivan? How old is he and where is he from? What was his previous position?

In the Official Gazette published on February 4, 2025, with the signature of President and AK Party Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, new appointments were made to various directorates, embassies, and governorships. Within the scope of this decision, Ali Hamza Pehlivan, who was serving as the Governor of Mersin, was appointed as the President of AFAD, while Atilla Toros, the President of Migration Management, was brought to the vacated position of Governor of Mersin.

WHO IS ALI HAMZA PEHLIVAN?

Ali Hamza Pehlivan was born in 1977 in the Hemşin district of Rize. After completing his primary and secondary education in Hemşin, he graduated from the Department of Economics at Ankara University's Faculty of Political Sciences in 1999 with an honors certificate. In the same year, he passed the District Governor Candidate exam organized by the Ministry of Interior and began his duty as a District Governor Candidate for Artvin Province in May 2000.

Pehlivan served as the Acting District Governor in the Ladik district of Samsun between March and September 2001. Between 2001 and 2002, he completed his master's degree in Public Administration at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom.

Pehlivan was appointed as the District Governor of Doğankent in Giresun in April 2003. He served as the District Governor in the Kemah district of Erzincan between October 2003 and October 2006. He served as the Deputy Governor of Hakkari between November 1, 2006, and September 10, 2008. While serving as the District Governor of Piraziz between September 21, 2008, and March 12, 2012, he also served as the Deputy Governor of Giresun during the last seven months of that period.

He served as the District Governor of Göksun between March 23, 2012, and July 25, 2015, and as the District Governor of İznik between June 28, 2015, and June 30, 2017. He held the positions of Governor of Bayburt between June 21, 2017, and July 29, 2019, and Governor of Şırnak between July 17, 2019, and May 12, 2022.

Finally, Pehlivan, who was appointed as the Governor of Mersin with the decision published in the Official Gazette dated May 12, 2022, was brought to the position of President of AFAD with the decision published in the Official Gazette on February 4, 2025.

News Source: 12punto