Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends joint news conference following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, March 5, 2020. Pavel Golovkin / Pool via REUTERS / File Photo
President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday named a leading member of Turkey’s ruling AK Party, Mehmet Mus, as trade minister and split another ministry in two, according to officials said the first step was in an expected wider cabinet shuffle.
In a presidential decision, Ruhsar Pekcan, the woman with the highest cabinet, is replaced as trade minister by Mus, who is close to former finance minister and Erdogan’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak, a divisive party figure. read more
The decision, published in the Official Gazette, gave no reason for the change, but it comes after opposition politicians accused the Pekcan ministry of buying supplies from her family business and asking her to resign.
The Ministry of Trade confirmed that a purchase of sanitizers had been made, but said in a statement on Tuesday that the choice was based on the price alone and not because of “the name of the company making the sale”.
It is said that the sale, valued at approximately 500 000 lire ($ 62 000), was carried out in accordance with the applicable regulations.
Erdogan’s overnight changes come amid speculation about a larger cabinet shuffle, after he changed the country’s best economic management in November, including the central bank governor.
A senior government official told Reuters that further changes to four or five ministries are expected after the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ends in mid-May.
“There was generally an expectation of the cabinet reshuffle and it is still valid. But the incident over Pekcan’s disinfectant was not acceptable,” the official said, adding that Erdogan would make the final decision on any further changes. .
ALBAYRAK ally
Mus, a member of the AK Party since 2011 who has been vice-president of the economy, was among the first to defend Albayrak’s record and called for him to remain in office when Albayrak abruptly resigned in November. finance.
Rapid turnover over the past two months at powerful state and financial institutions has left other Albayrak allies in the best positions, including Salim Arda Ermut, the new CEO of Turkey Wealth Fund.
Foreign investors withdrew from Turkey due to unorthodox policies under Albayrak’s supervision, including the sale of some $ 128 billion in foreign currency via state-owned banks in 2019 and 2020, which severely depleted central bank reserves. read more
“Mus was near Albayrak,” said a person close to the AK Party who also requested anonymity.
“The expectation of the cabinet reshuffle did not end with this step. The president is looking into the timing,” the person added.
According to the decision, Erdogan also established two new ministries by dividing the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy into two separate ministries.
He appointed Derya Yanik as Minister of Family and Social Policy and Vedat Bilgin as Minister of Labor and Social Security, replacing Zehra Zumrut Selcuk.
($ 1 = 8,1122 lira)
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