Berat Albayrak, Erdogan's son-in-law and unofficial Prime Minister – International



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Married to Mr. Erdogan's eldest daughter, Esra, Mr. Albayrak, 40, has held the key position of Minister of Energy since 2015, and has enjoyed an irresistible rise in recent years.

His appointment the key position of Finance comes in a difficult economic context with high inflation, a sharp devaluation of the currency and a large current account deficit, despite solid growth.

In a country where the last Prime Minister Binali Yildirim was widely perceived as a loyal executor of Mr. Erdogan, Mr. Albayrak, charismatic, good speaker and perfectly English-speaking, was often the second strongman in the country.

"The Gendre", as it is designated by detractors Mr. Erdogan who denounce a form of nepotism, accompanies the president during his most important travels and attends the most crucial meetings.

Sign of the proximity between the two men, M Albayrak was on holiday with Erdogan in southwestern Turkey when the coup attempt of July 15, 2016 broke out.

M. Albayrak was accompanying Erdogan when he returned to Istanbul on the night of the 16th, a potentially risky plane ride while putschist aircraft patrolled the air.

The former Minister of Energy also stood by when Erdogan, having triumphantly landed at Atatürk Airport, announced the failure of the coup at a press conference.

– Unofficial Prime Minister –

Before In politics, Albayrak led Calik Holding, a powerful conglomerate with interests in textiles, energy and, most importantly, the media, with the influential daily Sabah and the news channel A Haber.

D Affable and confident, Mr. Albayrak earned a Master's degree in Finance from Pace University, New York. Before joining the government in 2015, he regularly wrote chronicles in the columns of Sabah.

M. Erdogan is said to be very close to the Albayrak family, especially Berat's father, Sadik, a former journalist and Islamist politician of whom he is a close friend.

Several foreign leaders were present at the wedding between Berat Albayrak and Esra Erdogan, in July 2004. The couple has three children

The influence of Mr. Albayrak in the Turkish government is such that the 30-year-old is sometimes described as an unofficial prime minister.

In September 2016, a group hackers calling themselves Redhack claimed to have hacked into Mr. Albayrak's email box and issued press emails to one of the country's most powerful media group, Dogan Media, who disputed the authenticity of the messages.

– Energy Diplomacy –

As Minister of Energy, Mr. Albayrak had the opportunity to expand his address book by increasing contacts with foreign governments, notably Russia and Israel, countries with which Turkey negotiates important energy projects,

This position has allowed it to adopt from time to time the role of chief diplomat. Thus, the reconciliation in 2016 between Turkey and Israel, after several years of crisis, was sealed by a ministerial meeting between Mr. Albayrak and his Israeli counterpart Yuval Steinitz.

But Mr. Albayrak was also the subject of virulent attacks. At the height of the diplomatic crisis between Ankara and Moscow, after the Turkish air force shot down a Russian aircraft on the Syrian border in 2015, Russia accused the close circle of MM. Albayrak and Erdogan to be involved in the oil trade with ISIS jihadists

These accusations have been vigorously denied by Erdogan and several Turkish officials.

All bitterness was quickly forgotten after the warming of relations between the two countries, and Mr Albayrak was smiling when he signed a major Russian-Turkish gas project in October 2016.

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