Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, son-in-law of Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, announced his resignation via his Instagram account on 8 November.
Albayrak cited his health issues as a factor in his decision and said that he would dedicate his time to his father, children and wife. It was also revealed that Albayrak’s Twitter account had been suspended.
According to the BBC, a Treasury and Finance Ministry official confirmed the resignation and said that whether or not the resignation of Albayral had been approved was still unclear.
Meanwhile, AKP Ankara deputy and floor leader Naci Bostancı said it was not correct to make statements on current reports and added that the issue would be decided at the discretion of President Erdoğan. The Turkish Presidency has not yet made a statement regarding Minister Albayrak’s resignation.
Sn. Berat Albayrak bakanımız şahsen açıklama yapmadan mevcut haberler üzerinden değerlendirme yapmak doğru olmaz. Yıllardır bu ülkeye milletimize fedakarca yaptığı hizmetleri biliyor ve ayni şekilde devamını diliyoruz. Konu her bakımdan Sn. Cumhurbaşkanımızın takdirindedir.
— Naci Bostancı 🇹🇷 (@nacibostanci) November 8, 2020
According to Reuters, a Turkish administration official claimed that the reason for the resignation was the worsening exchange rates of Turkish currency.
The resignation has not been reported by state-backed media in Turkey.
Economy worsened under Albayrak’s administration
Albayrak was appointed as Treasury and Finance Minister in 2018. During his administration the Turkish economy worsened, and the Turkish currency’s value decreased by 3.8 percent in 2018.
The US dollar exchange rate increased from 4.5 Turkish lira to 6.5 in a few months. The value of the lira decreased even more over the next two years and the Turkish lira to US dollar exchange rate increased to over 8.5.
Following the resignation of Albayrak, Reuters reported that the value of Turkish currency increased by one percent in Asia’s stock markets.
In addition, the Turkish/US exchange rate decreased from 8.52 to 8.20 TL.
