Erdogan set to take oath for 3rd term, announce new Cabinet lineup

Turkiye’s longtime President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is to be sworn in for his third term on June 3.

Turkiye's longtime President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is to be sworn in for his third term on June 3. He is scheduled to take the oath of office in Parliament, followed by an inauguration ceremony at his sprawling palace complex.

Mr. Erdogan, 69, won a new five-year term in a runoff presidential race last week that could stretch his 20-year rule in the key NATO country that straddles Europe and Asia, into a quarter-century. In power as Prime Minister and then as President since 2003, Mr. Erdogan is already Turkiye's longest-serving leader.

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The country of 85 million controls NATO's second-largest army, hosts millions of refugees and played a crucial role in brokering a deal that allowed the shipment of Ukraine grain, averting a global food crisis.

Dozens of foreign dignitaries are travelling to attend the ceremony, including NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Carl Bildt, a high-profile former Swedish Prime Minister. They are expected to press Erdogan to lift his country's objections to Sweden's membership in the military alliance — which requires unanimous approval by all allies.

Turkiye accuses Sweden of being too soft on Kurdish militants and other groups that Turkiye considers to be terrorists. NATO wants to bring Sweden into the alliance by the time allied leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12, but Turkiye and Hungary have yet to endorse the bid. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will also be attending the ceremony.

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