Naci Ağbal (Turkish pronunciation: [nɑːˌdʒi ɑːˈbɑɫ], born 1 January 1968) is a Turkish politician and former civil servant from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) who served as the Minister of Finance between 2015 and 2018. He was a Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Bayburt, a position he held until 2018 after being elected during the June 2015 general election. He previously served as the Undersecretary to the Ministry of Finance between 2009 and 2015, resigning in order to contest the election.

Naci Ağbal
Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey
In office
7 November 2020 – 20 March 2021
PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan
Preceded byMurat Uysal
Succeeded byŞahap Kavcıoğlu
President of the Directorate of Presidential Strategy and Budget
In office
24 July 2018 – 7 November 2020
PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan
Preceded byposition established
Succeeded byİbrahim Şenel
Minister of Finance
In office
24 November 2015 – 10 July 2018
Prime MinisterAhmet Davutoğlu
Binali Yıldırım
Preceded byMehmet Şimşek
Succeeded byBerat Albayrak
Undersecretary of Finance
In office
12 June 2009 – 9 February 2015
Prime MinisterRecep Tayyip Erdoğan
Ahmet Davutoğlu
Preceded byHasan Basri Aktan
Succeeded byİsa Coşkun
Member of the Grand National Assembly
In office
7 June 2015 – 7 July 2018
ConstituencyBayburt (June 2015, Nov 2015)
Personal details
Born (1968-01-01) 1 January 1968 (age 56)
Bayburt, Turkey
Political partyJustice and Development Party
Alma materIstanbul University
OccupationCivil servant, politician
Cabinet64th, 65th

Early life and career

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Naci Ağbal was born on 1 January 1968 in Bayburt and graduated from Istanbul University's Faculty of Political Education in 1989.[1] He began his career in the same year by entering the Inspection Board, later becoming a finance inspector in 1993. In 2003, he became a department manager at the General Directorate of Revenues and became the General Director of Budget and Financial Control in 2007.[2] In October 2008, he was elected by the Cabinet of Turkey to the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), having been a Board of Trustees member of Ahmet Yesevi University since 8 March 2008. On 12 June 2009, he became the undersecretary to the Ministry of Finance.[3]

Political career

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Ağbal was one of the 200 bureaucrats who resigned from their civil service positions in February 2015 in order to stand as candidates in the June 2015 general election.[4][5] He was put forward as a Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate for his hometown of Bayburt and was subsequently elected to Parliament.[6] He was re-elected in the November 2015 general election.[7]

Minister of Finance

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After the AKP won a parliamentary majority in the November 2015 election, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu appointed Ağbal as Finance Minister in his new government on 24 November 2015. Ağbal replaced Mehmet Şimşek, who was appointed as a Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey having served as Finance Minister since 2009. In his first statement since being appointed as Minister, Ağbal claimed that the Turkish economy was entering a new 'reform' period and that the government would never stray from the principles of financial discipline. He stressed the need for creating a strong financial infrastructure in order to advance economic growth. Outgoing Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek praised his successor for his previous work as Undersecretary, with both committing their economic program to one of fiscal conservatism during their terms in government.[8]

Governor of the Turkish Central Bank

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On 7 November 2020, he was appointed the Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey, replacing Murat Uysal, who was unable to stop the fall of the Turkish lira,[9] which had lost more than 40% against the Dollar since January 2020.[10] He was sacked by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on 20 March 2021.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Naci Ağbal kimdir? - Maliye Bakanı kimdir?". hurriyet.com. 2015-11-24.
  2. ^ "Naci Ağbal kimdir?". Milliyet.
  3. ^ "Naci Ağbal Kimdir ? - Naci Ağbal Hayatı ve Biyografisi". www.haberler.com.
  4. ^ sitesi, milliyet.com.tr Türkiye'nin lider haber. "Maliye Bakanlığı Müsteşarı Ağbal'dan adaylık istifası".
  5. ^ "En az 200 bürokrat adaylık için istifa etti". CNN Türk.
  6. ^ "BAYBURT 2015 GENEL SEÇİM SONUÇLARI". secim.haberler.com.
  7. ^ "BAYBURT SEÇİM SONUÇLARI - 1 KASIM 2015 GENEL SEÇİM SONUÇLARI". secim.haberler.com.
  8. ^ sitesi, milliyet.com.tr Türkiye'nin lider haber. "Maliye Bakanı Ağbal'dan ilk açıklama".
  9. ^ Mihm, Andreas. "Krise in der Türkei: Alles besser mit dem neuen Notenbankchef?". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  10. ^ "US-Dollar-Türkische Lira | USD/TRY | aktueller Wechselkurs". finanzen.net (in German). Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  11. ^ "Erdogan Makes Low Interest-Rates Advocate Central Bank Chief". bloomberg.com. 2021-03-20. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
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Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Finance
2015–2018
Succeeded by