Mehmet Şimşek

Turkey experienced a reduction in economic growth in 2014, blamed by the government mainly on the problems in the Eurozone, with much of it allegedly due to political uncertainty in the country. By March 2015, the Turkish lira began losing heavy value towards the US dollar, trading at ₺2.68 to US$1. The sudden decline caused the Central Bank of Turkey to make a written intervention, with the opposition criticising President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for intervening in economic affairs despite his neutral and ceremonial role. The economy was seen as so fragile due to the political uncertainty that a single speech by Erdoğan caused the lira to rapidly lose its value against the dollar soon after.[4] Investors were also concerned about the future of Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, who holds responsibility for the Economy.[5]

Despite the economic slowdown, Şimşek claimed that there would be a high chance that the lira would regain its value and that inflation would fall at a fast rate in 2016.[6] With key Islamists in government, such as Numan Kurtulmuş, openly critical about the independence of the Central Bank, Şimşek claimed that the uncertainty caused by the potential of politicising the Central Bank meant that Turkey was unlikely to return to strong economic growth in the near future.[7]

Şimşek has since defended his record as Finance Minister, stating that his government was being unfairly targeted despite managing to keep its budget commitments under heavy economic pressures.[8]

In May 2015, Şimşek said that his government had reduced poverty, as well as including a statistic that showed that the percentage of the population living below $1 a day fell from 0.2% to 0% between 2002 and 2013. The tweet generated huge controversy. [9]

In the run-up to the June 2015 general election, Şimşek stated that populism by opposition parties would be the most significant threat to Turkey's economy, stating that the Republican People's Party's policy of increasing the minimum wage to ₺1,500 would be devastating to workers, alleging that the extra cost of hiring workers would lead to unemployment.[10] Commenting on other policies in the Republican People's Party (CHP) manifesto, Şimşek claimed that if the party could name a source for all their spending plans, he would vote for them.[11] The CHP subsequently gave the numerous government corruption scandals, the lavish spending on a new Presidential Palace and government waste as their funding.

In the run up to the election, Şimşek ordered the release of ₺1.325 billion of allowances to farmers and manufacturers.[12]

After the 2018 election, Şimşek was replaced by Erdogan with Erdogan's son in law Berat Albayrak in July 2018.[13]

In 2019, it was revealed that Şimşek had been targeted by Project Raven; a UAE clandestine surveillance and hacking operation, targeting other governments, militants and human rights activists critical of the UAE monarchy. Using a "sophisticated spying tool called Karma" they managed to hack an iPhone belonging to Şimşek.[14][15]

On 3 June 2023, after the re-election of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as president, Şimşek was reappointed as the Minister of Treasury and Finance.[3]