Turkey's president is continuing to assume more and more power by issuing emergency status decrees. Most recently, he has taken over the country's defense industry.

This is the second major move illustrating how executive powers are being transferred from the prime minister to the president, following an August decree that attached the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) to the president.

On Dec. 24, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued the decree placing the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) under the president's full control rather than the Defense Ministry's. SSM is the key government institution in charge of the state's defense procurement and was allocated nearly $11 billion in the 2018 general budget. SSM has the power to procure, produce and sign deals for all military and police forces of the country. SSM has the highest share of the defense budget, with authority to decide what to buy and from whom. SSM is also directly responsible for the Defense Industry Support Fund, which had about $3 billion in reserve funds in 2016.

According to the new decree, the president will also chair the Defense Industry Executive Committee, which consists of the prime minister, the chief of general staff, and the interior and national defense ministers. The committee will meet upon invitation of the president, who will determine meeting agendas. The SSM provides the committee’s secretariat services.