Mohammed Abdul Rahman Turko

Mohammed Abdul Rahman Turko (Arabic: محمد عبد الرحمن تركو, Kurdish: Mêhmed Abdulrêhman Turko; born 1979) is a Syrian academic and politician who has served as the minister of education in the Syrian transitional government since 29 March 2025. He is a Syrian Kurd and hails from the city of Afrin in northern Syria.

Mohammed Abdul Rahman Turko
Minister of Education
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 March 2025
President	Ahmed al-Sharaa
Preceded by	Nazir al-Qadri
Personal details
Born	1979 (age 45–46) Afrin, Syria
Alma mater	Damascus University (BA) Leipzig University (PhD)

Education and academic career

Turko earned his bachelor's degree in law from Damascus University in 2001, specializing in criminal law. He later pursued his doctoral studies in Germany and received a PhD in law from Leipzig University. His academic focus includes special penal law, child rights, and child protection from violence.^[1]

He has served as a professor at the Faculty of Law at Damascus University, where he taught subjects including child legislation and its institutions. He also taught at the Faculty of Education, focusing on child-related legislation.^[2]

Administrative roles

From 2022 to 2024, Turko held the position of Vice President of Damascus University for Administrative and Student Affairs. He was also a member of the academic staff at the Syrian Virtual University and contributed to research on topics such as child protection, citizenship values in educational curricula, and human rights education.^[1][2]

Ministerial role

On 29 March 2025, Turko was appointed Minister of Education in the Syrian transitional government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa.^[3]

Turko's appointment occurred amid growing internal and external calls for a more inclusive and representative government.^[4] He is reportedly the only Kurdish figure serving in the Syrian transitional government.^[2]

Despite this, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria expressed a critical stance toward the newly formed government, claiming that it fails to reflect the diversity of Syrian society and claimed that, similar to the era of Bashar al-Assad, power remains centralized in the hands of the new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.^[5][6]