Ankara: First female central bank governor in Turkish history. Economist Hafeez Gaye Erkan has been appointed as the new governor. The announcement was made by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Hafeez Gaye Erkan was the former co-CEO of San Francisco-based First Republic Bank and a managing director at Goldman Sachs. Until now, Sahap Kavcioglu was the Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey. Sahap was to reduce interest rates to prevent inflation. This was different from the policy adopted by central banks in foreign countries. However, Erkan’s appointment is now seen as a sign of the new Erdogan administration moving towards more conventional economic policies as Turkey navigates its economic crisis.
After being elected as the president of Turkey for the third time, Erdogan announced the new central bank governor. Mehmet Simsek, an economist at the US investment company Merrill Lynch, has also been chosen as the new finance minister. Simsek was a critic of the unconventional economic policies adopted by previous Erdogan governments to curb inflation.
Hafiz Ergan graduated from Bogazici University in Istanbul and received his doctorate from Princeton University in the US. Research was in financial engineering.
