2026 in Turkey
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| Office | Image | Name | Tenure / Current length |
|---|---|---|---|
| President |  |
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan | 28 August 2014 |
| Vice President of Turkey | .jpg) |
Cevdet Yılmaz | 4 June 2023 |
| 30th Speaker of the Grand National Assembly | _(cropped).jpg) |
Numan Kurtulmuş | 27 June 2023 |
| President of the Constitutional Court | Zühtü Arslan | 10 February 2015 | |
| Minister of National Defense | .jpg) |
Yaşar Güler | 4 June 2023 |
| Chief of the Turkish General Staff | .jpg) |
Metin Gürak | 3 August 2023 |
Events
Ongoing
January
- 13 January – A judge is shot and injured by her former partner, a public prosecutor, inside a courthouse in Kartal, Istanbul. The gunman is arrested.[1]
- 21 January – Zeynep Sönmez becomes the first Turkish tennis player to reach the third round in singles at the Australian Open tennis tournament.[2]
- 22 January – Authorities announce the discovery in Istanbul of the body of a Russian swimmer who disappeared while competing in the 2025 Bosphorus Cross Continental Swim in August.[3]
- 27 January – Authorities announce the arrest of six people across five provinces on suspicion of spying for Iran.[4]
- 29 January – The Turkish Football Federation issues a fine of 802,500 lira ($18,500) on Diyarbakır-based club Amed S.F.K. and suspends its president, Nahit Eren, on charges of "making ideological propaganda" after the club uploads a video of a woman having her hair braided amid similar acts by Kurds in protests against the 2026 northeastern Syria offensive.[5]
February
- 1 February – A bus falls off a highway embankment in Döşemealtı, Antalya Province, killing nine people and injuring 21 others.[6]
- 10 February – The Beşiktaş district government in Istanbul bans scheduled concerts by rock bands Slaughter to Prevail and Behemoth following accusations of satanism by Islamist groups.[7]
- 11 February – A brawl breaks out in the Grand National Assembly over the appointment of Akın Gürlek as justice minister.[8]
- 19 February – Journalist Alican Uludag is arrested in Ankara on charges of insulting president Erdoğan on social media.[9]
- 20 February – Turkey and Saudi Arabia sign an agreement to strengthen bilateral investments in the solar energy sector.[10]
- 25 February – An F-16 fighter jet of the Turkish Air Force crashes shortly after takeoff near a section of Otoyol 5 in Balıkesir, killing the pilot.[11]
March
- 4 March – An Iranian ballistic missile is intercepted by NATO air defenses over Hatay Province.[12]
- 9 March –
- A boat carrying migrants collides with a Turkish Coast Guard vessel off Demre, Antalya Province, killing 14 passengers.[13]
- Turkey and NATO forces shoot down an Iranian ballistic missile violating Turkish airspace over Gaziantep Province.[14]
- The United States reaches a deferred prosecution agreement with Turkey's state-owned lender Halkbank to resolve criminal charges alleging that the bank helped Iran evade U.S. sanctions. Under the agreement, Halkbank must implement compliance monitoring and avoid transactions that benefit Iran, after which the charges may be dismissed pending court approval.[15]
- 13 March – Turkey intercepts an Iranian ballistic missile violating its airspace.[16]
- 18 March – Iraq reaches a deal with Turkey and the Kurdistan Region to resume oil exports through the Kirkuk–Ceyhan Oil Pipeline.[17]
- 22 March – One person is killed and 10 others are injured, including one critically, when a natural gas explosion collapses two residential buildings in Fatih, Istanbul.[18]
April
- 7 April – Three gunmen open fire on police outside the building housing the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, resulting in a shootout that leaves one of the attackers dead and the other two injured. Two police officers are also injured.[19]
- 14 April – Sixteen people are injured in a school shooting in Siverek, Şanlıurfa Province. The 18-year old perpetrator dies by suicide.[20]
- 15 April – Ten people are killed in a school shooting in Kahramanmaraş. The 14-year old perpetrator is also killed.[21]
- 20 April – Eight people are sentenced to up to 7.5 years' imprisonment for the plunging of a cable car on Tünek Tepe in 2024 that killed one person.[22]
Scheduled
- 20 May – 2026 UEFA Europa League final[23]
- 21 August–6 September – 2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship in Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Sweden and Turkey.[24][25]
- 3–20 December – 2026 European Women's Handball Championship in Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey.[26]
Holidays
- 1 January – New Year's Day
- 20 to 22 March – Ramazan Bayramı
- 23 April – Children's Day
- 1 May – Labour Day
- 19 May – Youth and Sports Day
- 27 to 30 May – Kurban Bayramı
- 15 July – Democracy and National Unity Day
- 30 August – Victory Day
- 29 October – Republic Day
Deaths
- 3 January – Mesut İktu, 78, operatic baritone, administrator and voice teacher.[29]
- 13 January – Ayfer Elmastaşoğlu, 81, footballer and football manager.[30]
- 21 January – Haldun Dormen, 97, actor and director.[31]
- 23 January – Selim Sadak, 71, MP (1991–1994) and mayor of Siirt (2009–2014).[32]
- 24 January – Sefer Baygın, 83, Olympic wrestler (1972).[33]
- 3 February – Şemsa Özar, 71, academic.[34]
- 6 February – Nevin Efe, 78, actress (Valley of the Wolves: Ambush, Aşk ve Ceza, Arka Sokaklar).[35]
- 11 February – Kanbolat Görkem Arslan, 45, actor.[36]
- 12 February – Ömer Kaner, 74, football coach and player.[37]
- 14 February – Nurcan Çelik, 46, footballer.[38]
- 22 February – Ali Tutal, 75–76, actor (On Fertile Lands, Hemşo, Home Coming).[39]
- 8 April – Ahmet Altay Cengizer, 71, diplomat.[40]
- 11 April – Hüsamettin Cindoruk, 92, acting president (1993), twice member and speaker (1991–1995) of the Grand National Assembly.[41]
