Turkey replaces finance minister

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed a new finance and treasury minister on Dec. 2 after Minister Lutfi Elvan resigned, according to a presidential decree issued in the Turkish official gazette.

Erdoğan appointed Nureddin Nebati, deputy of Elvan, as the new finance minister.

Nebati, who had been a deputy minister of treasury and finance for the last three years, studied international relations, political sciences and public administration.

“My God, make it easy, do not make it difficult. My God, make its outcome beneficial. Give us truth in our work, make us successful,” Nebati tweeted on Dec. 2.

Nabati supported the low-interest policy with a long post on Twitter on Nov. 25.

He said that Turkey had been trying to implement a policy of low rates for years but faced strong opposition.

“This time, we are determined to implement it,” he wrote on Twitter.

Elvan had been in the role since November 2020.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Turkish Central Bank intervened in markets to prop up the Turkish Lira.

Erdoğan implicitly criticized Elvan for opposing the lower interest rate policy. Turkish president insists on low-interest rates despite depreciating lira and rising inflation.

On Nov. 30, the president vowed to continue the policy of low interest rates until the next elections in 2023.

“With the new economic model, we reject out of hand the policy of attracting hot money with high-interest rates,” Erdoğan said in an interview on state TV.

“We will support production and exports with lower rates,” Erdoğan stated.

“We are no longer posting a current account deficit and financing deficit with external debt, but we are moving towards an economy that gains foreign currency,” he also said.