Erdoğan replaces Central Bank deputy governors

Hatice Karahan (top-left), Fatih Karahan (down-left) and Cevdet Akçay

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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has replaced the deputy governors of the Central Bank (CBRT).

Emrah Şener, Taha Çakmak, and Mustafa Duman have been removed from their positions, and they have been replaced by Osman Cevdet Akçay, Fatih Karahan, and Hatice Karahan.

Economists commented that the new appointees are in line with the new economic policies following the elections in May.

After being re-elected for the third time, Erdoğan abandoned the low-interest rate policy and appointed Mehmet Şimşek, known for advocating "orthodox" policies, as the minister of treasury and finance.

With the appointment of Hafize Gaye Erkan as the head of the Central Bank last month, interest rates were increased for the first time in 27 months. The policy rate, which was at 8.5% in May, rose to 15% in June and 17.5% in July.

Economic commentator Uğur Gürses remarked on the current appointments, stating, "The team that caused inflation to soar is gone, and three individuals with good backgrounds have come in."

Political scientist Evren Balta tweeted, "There has been a change in direction with midnight decrees and appointments. In the past, we were surprised by the inappropriateness/irrelevance of the appointees; now, we are surprised by their 'suitability.'

"For example, Cevdet Akçay was appointed as a Central Bank Vice President in the decree issued last night. He was someone who could have been appointed to the same/similar position had the opposition won the elections as well."

Prof. Veysel Ulusoy wrote, "An academic approach after mediocrity surprised everyone."

About the appointees

Cevdet Akçay: A graduate of Boğaziçi University's economics department, he obtained M.Phil and Ph.D. degrees from New York City University Graduate School and University Center. He worked as the chief economist at Koç Financial Services and Yapi Kredi until May 1, 2018. His research and publications focus on exchange rate determination and debt dynamics.

Hatice Karahan: A graduate of Boğaziçi University's Department of Business, she pursued her master's degree in economics at the same university. She later went to the USA for her Ph.D. and began teaching at Syracuse University, where she completed her economics doctorate in 2006.

After returning to Turkey, she started working at İstanbul Bilgi University and served as an economic advisor at Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK). She became an associate professor in macroeconomics in 2014 and provided economic consultancy to various business organizations. In 2017, she became President Erdoğan's economic advisor.

Fatih Karahan: He graduated from Boğaziçi University's Mathematics Department and pursued economics at the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his Ph.D. at Columbia University. He worked at the US Federal Reserve (FED) for about 10 years, leading the Labor and Product Market Studies in the Monetary Policy Research Unit and providing economic research consultancy. In November 2022, he joined Amazon and served as chief economist. (HA/VK)