Ali Babacan

Ali Babacan
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
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 57)
Ankara, Turkey
Political partyJustice and Development Party (2001–2019)
Democracy and Progress Party (2020–present)
Spouse
Ülkü Zeynep Yurter
(m. 1995)
Children3
Alma materMiddle East Technical University
Northwestern University
Occupation
  • Politician
  • economist
  • engineer
Signature
Websitealibabacan.com.tr

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.

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; under his leadership, the 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.

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] DEVA eventually joined the Nation Alliance, opposing AKP and Turkish president Erdoğan.

  1. ^ "Ali Babacan". Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on Sep 21, 2023.
  2. ^ "Turkey and IMF reach accord on $10bn loan". Financial Times. April 12, 2005. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
  3. ^ "Surging Turkish growth raises fears". Financial Times. December 12, 2011. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
  4. ^ Butler, Daren (March 9, 2020). "Turkey's Babacan applies to launch new party, calls for more democracy". Reuters. Archived from the original on Jan 16, 2023.