Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed Atilla Koç, 59, as Türkiye's new Culture and Tourism Minister on 21 February 2005, filling the vacancy left by Erkan Mumcu, the first cabinet member to quit Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.
The announcement came after Erdoğan held an unscheduled two-hour meeting with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer at the presidential palace following the weekly cabinet session. Speculation arose that a broader cabinet reshuffle may have been discussed, though Erdoğan offered little detail to reporters.
Koç, an AKP parliamentarian from the western province of Aydın, built an extensive public-sector career as a governor, sub-governor, and provincial police chief, and also served as general secretary of the Ankara municipality and undersecretary at the prime ministry.
He succeeds Mumcu, 42, who stepped down on 15 February from both the cabinet and the AKP, citing persistent policy disagreements within the government. Mumcu's departure followed reports that he had opposed a proposal to pardon thousands of students who had been expelled from universities, including those removed for wearing Islamic headscarves.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in February 2005, in its own words.