Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to appoint Mehmet Simsek as finance and treasury minister, according to a person familiar with the negotiations, a move that would restore to the government an economist widely respected by foreign investors.
Simsek, a former senior economist at Merrill Lynch, will return to the Turkish government at a time when the country’s $900 billion economy is under severe pressure and foreign investors have fled after years of unorthodox policies by the Erdogan government.
If appointed, it would be a sign that Erdogan may be willing to back down from his unorthodox policies, which many blame for sparking a severe cost-of-living crisis, as the lira has fallen to record lows against the dollar.
Simsek was the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs. He served as Minister of Finance from 2009 to 2015, when he took over as Deputy Prime Minister. He resigned in 2018 when Erdogan appointed his son-in-law as finance minister, but has now found common ground with the president on key policy issues, according to the person familiar with the talks.
Erdogan, who was re-elected for a new five-year term on Sunday, is expected to unveil his new government on Saturday. The Turkish government did not immediately comment on the matter. Bloomberg first reported the news of Simsek’s appointment.