Turkish President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has appointed as Turkish ambassador to Qatar the brother of an AKP district mayor in İstanbul, according to Turkish media reports.
Mehmet Mustafa Göksu was appointed Turkish ambassador in Doha by Erdoğan on July 1, one day before Erdoğan paid a visit to Qatar.
Göksu is the brother of Mehmet Tevfik Göksu, mayor of the Esenler district of İstanbul from the AKP and a member of the İstanbul City Council.
Mehmet Mustafa Göksu previously served as a bureaucrat at the prime ministry and as regional director of Turkey’s state-run Maarif Foundation for the Middle East and North Africa regions.
Maarif was established prior to a coup attempt on July 15, 2016, through legislation in the Turkish parliament, and after the abortive putsch, it targeted the closure of Gülen-linked educational institutions as part of Turkish foreign policy since the government accuses the Gülen movement of orchestrating the failed coup and launched a crackdown on the movement. The movement strongly denies any involvement in the failed coup.
The AKP and Erdoğan are widely criticized for filling state posts with their cronies and disregarding merit-based assignments.