Erdogan surprised observers by appointing his senior adviser Ibrahim Kalin to head the National Intelligence Service. Kalin, known for his love of music and literature and his specialization in philosophy and history, will have to run one of the most important intelligence services in the region and the world.
His appointment remained surprising, given that he did not have a previous professional career in the security or intelligence corps, which raised questions about the reasons and obligations of this appointment and its implications. The Turkish academic lectured on Islamic thought and Western Islamic relations at a number of universities. He founded the Endowment for Political, Economic and Social Studies in Ankara.