Recep Tayyip Erdogan appoints his son-in-law as new Minister of Finance

Just hours after his swearing in, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his cabinet. The new finance minister is his son-in-law Berat Albayrak

It includes 16 ministers – according to the public Anadolu news agency 10 less than before. For many important articles, however, everything remained the same – Erdogan relies on confidants and relatives. In response to the staffing decision, the Turkish lira lost value in the financial markets.

During the election campaign, Erdogan had announced that as president he wanted to exercise more control over the central bank. This worried investors, the independence of the central bank could be in danger. Inflation in Turkey is currently about 15.4% higher than it was in 14 years.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs remains Mevlüt Cavusoglu. Erdogan named Fuat Oktay, former secretary of state and advisor to former prime minister Binali Yildirim, as first vice president. With the constitutional amendments currently in force, Erdogan will take over the leadership of the government as the post of prime minister is abolished. In addition, the head of state can pbad some of the decrees by the parliament.

Some departments have been merged, said Erdogan. Among them, according to the median data, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs merged with that of European Affairs. Several offices dealing with the economy and commerce have now become a large trade ministry.