Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a joint press conference after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia on March 5, 2020. Pavel Golovkin / Pole via REUTERS / File Photo
President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday appointed a prominent member of Turkey’s ruling AK party Mehmet Mus as trade minister and split another ministry in two, which authorities say was the first step in an expected broader cabinet change.
In a presidential decree, Ruhsar Pekcan, the cabinet’s most prominent woman, was replaced as trade minister by Mus, close to former finance minister, and Erdogan’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak, a divisive party. read more
The decree, published in the Official Gazette, gave no reason for the change, but it comes after opposition politicians accused Pekcan’s ministry of buying supplies from her family business and calling for her to step down.
The Department of Commerce confirmed that disinfectants had been purchased, but said in a statement Tuesday that the choice was based only on price and not “the name of the company doing the sale.”
It said the sale, worth approximately 500,000 liras ($ 62,000), was conducted in accordance with relevant regulations.
Erdogan’s overnight changes come amid speculation of a broader cabinet reshuffle, after he changed the country’s top economic management, including the central bank governor, in November.
A senior government official told Reuters that further changes in four or five ministries are expected after the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ends in mid-May.
“In general, there was a reshuffle of the cabinet and it is still valid. But Pekcan’s disinfectant incident was not acceptable,” the official said, adding that Erdogan will make the final decision on any further changes.
ALBAYRAK allies
A member of the AK Party since 2011 and deputy chairman of the economy, Mus was one of the first to defend Albayrak’s record, calling for him to remain in office when Albayrak abruptly resigned as finance minister in November.
Rapid turnover over the past two months at powerful state and financial institutions has put other Albayrak allies in the top spot, including Salim Arda Ermut, the new CEO of Turkey Wealth Fund.
Foreign investors withdrew from Turkey over unorthodox policies overseen by Albayrak, including the sale of about $ 128 billion in foreign currency through state banks in 2019 and 2020, severely depleting the central bank’s reserves. read more
“Sparrow was close to Albayrak,” said a person close to the AK party who also asked for anonymity.
“The expectation of the cabinet reshuffle did not end with this move. The president controls the timing,” the person added.
According to the decree, Erdogan has also established two new ministries by splitting 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 days)
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