Ali Babacan
Ali Babacan (Turkish pronunciation: [aˈli babaˈdʒan]; born 4 April 1967) is a Turkish politician, economist, and engineer. He is the founder and current leader of the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA). He served 13 years as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Economy, Chief Negotiator for the EU and Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey from 2002 to 2015. He was a member of the parliament as well.
Ali Babacan | |
|---|---|
| Leader of the Democracy and Progress Party | |
| Assumed office 10 March 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey | |
| In office 1 May 2009 – 28 August 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Ahmet Davutoğlu |
| Serving with | Bülent Arınç Beşir Atalay Bekir Bozdağ Emrullah İşler Yalçın Akdoğan Numan Kurtulmuş |
| Preceded by | Nazım Ekren |
| Succeeded by | Cevdet Yılmaz |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 29 August 2007 – 1 May 2009 | |
| Prime Minister | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan |
| Preceded by | Abdullah Gül |
| Succeeded by | Ahmet Davutoğlu |
| Chief Negotiator for Turkish Accession to the European Union | |
| In office 17 January 2005 – 11 January 2009 | |
| Prime Minister | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Egemen Bağış |
| Minister of State Responsible for Economy | |
| In office 18 November 2002 – 29 August 2007 | |
| Prime Minister | Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip Erdoğan |
| Preceded by | Masum Türker |
| Succeeded by | Mehmet Şimşek |
| Member of the Grand National Assembly | |
| In office 1 November 2015 – 9 July 2018 | |
| Constituency | Ankara (I) (Nov 2015) |
| In office 19 November 2002 – 7 June 2015 | |
| Constituency | Ankara (I) (2002, 2007, 2011) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 April 1967 Ankara, Turkey |
| Political party | Justice and Development Party (2001–2019) Democracy and Progress Party (2020–present) |
| Spouse |
Ülkü Zeynep Yurter (m. 1995) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Middle East Technical University Northwestern University |
| Occupation |
|
| Signature | |
| Website | alibabacan |
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. 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; under his leadership, the Turkish economy achieved a remarkable recovery after two severe crises. He mostly stayed away from the Turkish political arena and focused on economic reforms, acting more like a technocrat.
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. DEVA eventually joined the Nation Alliance, opposing AKP and Turkish president Erdoğan.