Ali Babacan

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Ali Babacan
Ali Babacan 2020 (cropped).jpg
Leader of the Democracy and Progress Party
Assumed office
10 March 2020
Preceded byPosition established
Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
In office
1 May 2009 – 28 August 2015
Prime MinisterRecep Tayyip Erdoğan
Ahmet Davutoğlu
Serving withBülent Arınç
Beşir Atalay
Bekir Bozdağ
Emrullah İşler
Yalçın Akdoğan
Numan Kurtulmuş
Preceded byNazım Ekren
Succeeded byCevdet Yılmaz
41st Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
29 August 2007 – 1 May 2009
Prime MinisterRecep Tayyip Erdoğan
Preceded byAbdullah Gül
Succeeded byAhmet Davutoğlu
Chief Negotiator for Turkish Accession to the European Union
In office
17 January 2005 – 11 January 2009
Prime MinisterRecep Tayyip Erdoğan
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byEgemen Bağış
Minister of State Responsible for Economy
In office
18 November 2002 – 29 August 2007
Prime MinisterAbdullah Gül
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Preceded byMasum Türker
Succeeded byMehmet Şimşek
Member of the Grand National Assembly
In office
1 November 2015 – 9 July 2018
ConstituencyAnkara (I) (Nov 2015)
In office
19 November 2002 – 7 June 2015
ConstituencyAnkara (I) (2002, 2007, 2011)
Personal details
Born (1967-04-04) 4 April 1967 (age 54)
Ankara, Turkey
Political partyJustice and Development Party (2001–2019)
Democracy and Progress Party (2020–present)
Spouse(s)
Ülkü Zeynep Yurter
​
(m. 1995)​
Children3
Alma materMiddle East Technical University
Northwestern University
Occupation
  • Politician
  • economist
  • engineer
Websitealibabacan.com.tr

Ali Babacan (Turkish pronunciation: [aˈli babaˈdʒan]; born 4 April 1967) is a Turkish politician and economist. He is the founder and current leader of the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA). He served 13 years as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Economy of Turkey from 2002 to 2015. He was a member of the parliament and former Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey responsible for the Economy.

He first served as the Minister of State in charge of economic affairs in the 58th cabinet from the Justice and Development Party (AKP). He retained this position throughout the 58th and 59th Governments of the Republic of Turkey. On 29 August 2007 he was appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the 60th Government of the Republic of Turkey.[1] During 2009–2015, he served as the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Financial Affairs of Turkey.

Ali Babacan had the duty of steering a harsh economic reform program, which was backed by multibillion-dollar IMF loans; with its help, Turkish economy achieved a remarkable recovery after two severe crises.[2][3] He mostly stayed away from the Turkish political arena and focused on economic reforms, acting more like a technocrat and trying to stay away from populism.

In 2019, Babacan left the AKP, citing "deep differences" over the party's direction as a reason and founded the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) in 2020.[4] Babacan, who also speaks English, is married and has three children.[5]

Early life and career[]

Ali Babacan at the World Economic Forum, 2008

Education[]

Ali Babacan graduated from TED Ankara College ranking first among the class of 1985.[6] He attended the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara and in 1989 was awarded a BSc in Industrial Engineering with the highest marks (4.00 point out of 4.00).[6]

Babacan went to the U.S. on a Fulbright Scholarship to do postgraduate studies and in 1992 received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, with majors in marketing, organizational behavior and international business.[6]

Career in finance[]

Babacan worked then for two years as an associate at QRM, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois, a company doing financial consulting to the top executives of major banks in the United States.[6] He returned to Turkey in 1994 and, served as chief advisor to the mayor of Ankara the same year. He was the chairman of his family owned textile company between 1994 and 2002.[7]

Political life[]

Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Economy (2002–2015)[]

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Babacan and his US counterpart Hillary Clinton, 2009

He entered politics in 2001 as a co-founder and a Board member of the Justice and Development Party[8] and was elected to parliament as deputy for Ankara on 3 November 2002. He was appointed Minister of Economy on 18 November 2002 and became the youngest member of the cabinet, then at the age of 35.[9]

Ali Babacan at the Global Economic Outlook session, Davos, 2012

On 24 May 2005 Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced his appointment as chief negotiator in Turkey's accession talks with the European Union,[10] which started on 3 October 2005.[11] As government minister Babacan attended several international meetings including the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and the Bilderberg Group.

In 2019, Babacan left the ruling AKP, citing "deep differences" over the party's direction as a reason.[12]

Leader of the DEVA (2020–present)[]

Babacan confirmed his intent to form this party in a late 2019 interview with journalist Şirin Payzın of T24, and expects his party to be a "mainstream party" with particular focuses on minority rights, a return to Turkey's parliamentary system, fair processes in courts and legislation, and restoring freedom of speech and expression. Babacan is quoted as saying that "the nation will give our party its name".[13]

On 9 March 2020, he founded Democracy and Progress Party, abbreviated as "DEVA" or "remedy" in Turkish.[4] The DEVA Party held its first meeting of the Board of Founders on 10 March 2020, where he was unanimously elected Chairman.

References[]

  1. ^ "From Rep. of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  2. ^ "Turkey and IMF reach accord on $10bn loan". Financial Times. April 12, 2005.
  3. ^ "Surging Turkish growth raises fears". Financial Times. December 12, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Butler, Daren (March 9, 2020). "Turkey's Babacan applies to launch new party, calls for more democracy". Reuters.
  5. ^ "TÜRKİYE BÜYÜK MİLLET MECLİSİ". www.tbmm.gov.tr.
  6. ^ a b c d "Başbakan ve bakanların özgeçmişleri" (in Turkish). Ntvmsnbc.com. 3 September 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  7. ^ "DEVA - Ali Babacan | Biography". devapartisi.org (in Turkish). Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Meclis'in 6. partisi" (in Turkish). Zaman.com.tr. 15 August 2001. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  9. ^ "58. Hükümet'in profili" (in Turkish). Ntvmsnbc.com. 18 November 2002. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  10. ^ "Başmüzakereci Ali Babacan" (in Turkish). Ntvmsnbc.com. 29 May 2005. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  11. ^ "Türkiye-AB müzakereleri resmen başladı" (in Turkish). Hurriyet.com.tr. 4 October 2005. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  12. ^ "Ali Babacan resigns from Turkey's ruling AKP". Financial Times. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
  13. ^ "Ali Babacan yeni partinin ne zaman kurulacağını açıkladı". soL Haber (in Turkish). Retrieved 2019-12-27.

External links[]

Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Economic Affairs
2002–2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
2007–2009 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Second Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
2007–2015 		Succeeded by
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