Berat Albayrak facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Berat Albayrak
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| Minister of Treasury and Finance | |
| In office 10 July 2018 – 10 November 2020 |
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| President | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan |
| Preceded by | Naci Ağbal |
| Succeeded by | Lütfi Elvan |
| Minister of Energy and Natural Resources | |
| In office 24 November 2015 – 10 July 2018 |
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| Prime Minister | Ahmet Davutoğlu Binali Yıldırım |
| Preceded by | Ali Rıza Alaboyun |
| Succeeded by | Fatih Dönmez |
| Member of the Grand National Assembly | |
| In office 7 June 2015 – 10 July 2018 |
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| Constituency | Istanbul (I) (June 2015, Nov 2015, 2018) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 February 1978 Istanbul, Turkey |
| Political party | Justice and Development Party |
| Spouse |
Esra Erdoğan
(m. 2004) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parents | Sadık Albayrak Kıymet Albayrak |
| Relatives | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (father-in-law) Emine Erdoğan (mother-in-law) |
| Alma mater | Istanbul University Pace University Kadir Has University |
Berat Albayrak (born 21 February 1978) is a Turkish businessman and politician. He served as the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources from 2015 to 2018. Later, he became the Minister of Treasury and Finance from 2018 to 2020. He was also a member of parliament for Istanbul, representing the Justice and Development Party. Berat Albayrak is married to Esra Erdoğan, who is the daughter of Turkey's President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Berat Albayrak was born in Istanbul, Turkey, on February 21, 1978. His father is Sadık Albayrak, and his mother is Kıymet Albayrak. His family comes from a town called Dernekpazarı in Trabzon. He went to Fındıkzade Elementary School and Fatih Boys' High School for his early education.
In 2004, Albayrak married Esra Albayrak, the oldest daughter of Turkey's President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They have four children: three sons named Ahmet Akif, Sadık Eymen, and Hamza Salih, and one daughter named Emine Mahinur.
Berat Albayrak studied Business Administration at Istanbul University, graduating in 1999. He then earned a master's degree in finance from Pace University in New York in 2004. In 2011, he completed his PhD at Kadir Has University. His research was about how to finance projects that use "renewable energy," which means energy sources like solar or wind power that don't run out.
Career
Berat Albayrak started his professional life in 1996. In 1999, he joined a company called Çalık Holding. He worked in different roles there, including as a finance director in the company's United States office from 2002 to 2006. When he returned to Turkey in 2006, he became a deputy general manager. In 2007, he was promoted to general manager.
During his time in the private sector, he helped a Turkish company borrow money from international investors. He also helped sell a foreign company in Turkey for a very high price. These efforts brought a lot of foreign investment into Turkey.
At the end of 2013, Albayrak left the private sector. He started writing for the Sabah newspaper. He also taught classes on banking and finance at Marmara University.
Political Career
Berat Albayrak became a member of the Turkish Parliament in the June 2015 elections. He represented the Justice and Development Party (AKP). In September 2015, he joined the party's main leadership board.
After the November 2015 elections, he was appointed the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. He kept this role in the next government as well. In 2017, he was again appointed to the AKP's leadership board.
In 2018, after a big change in Turkey's government system, Albayrak became the Minister of Treasury and Finance. This new role meant he was in charge of the country's money and economy. He also took on other important roles, like being a deputy chairman of the Turkey Wealth Fund. In November 2020, he resigned from his position as Minister of Treasury and Finance due to health reasons.
Ministry of Energy Career
During Berat Albayrak's time as Minister of Energy, Turkey started many important energy projects. For example, special planes were used to find new energy resources underground in different parts of Turkey. They also drilled very deep wells to search for oil. Because of these efforts, Turkey is now producing a lot of oil in the Şırnak/Gabar region.
Albayrak also helped Turkey get its own drilling ships: Fatih, Yavuz, and Kanuni. The Fatih ship made a huge discovery of natural gas in the Black Sea. This gas is worth about 1 trillion US dollars, which is a massive amount of money for Turkey.
In 2018, the foundation for the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant was laid. This power plant will produce a lot of electricity and meet about 10% of Turkey's electricity needs. It is one of the biggest projects in Turkey's history.
Another major project completed was the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP). This long pipeline delivers natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey and Europe. It helps meet Turkey's gas needs and sends gas to other countries.
The Turkish Stream pipeline was also completed. This pipeline brings natural gas directly from Russia to Turkey, making Turkey an important country for gas distribution.
In 2018, Albayrak also started a facility to process boron, a special material used in defense industries. This facility opened in 2023. Under his leadership, Turkey also planned and started many projects for wind and solar energy, aiming to use more clean energy. New coal exploration also added a lot of coal to Turkey's energy reserves.
Ministry of Treasury and Finance Career
As Minister of Treasury and Finance, Berat Albayrak worked to control inflation, which is when prices for goods and services go up. He managed to bring inflation down significantly. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation remained relatively low.
He also worked on the country's "current account deficit," which means when a country spends more money on imports than it earns from exports. He managed to turn this into a "current account surplus," meaning Turkey earned more than it spent.
In 2020, public banks offered very affordable housing loans, helping many people buy homes. A very important step was bringing Turkey's gold reserves back home from other countries like the United States, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. This meant a lot of gold was returned to Turkey's Central Bank.
When he started, Turkey's Central Bank had 98.4 billion dollars in reserves. By the time he left, it was 85.2 billion dollars, partly due to the pandemic. However, in 2020, Turkey's economy still grew by 1.8%, which was impressive because most countries faced economic problems during the pandemic. Turkey was one of only two G20 countries (major economies) to grow that year.
His ministry was even recognized internationally for its good work in managing the country's debt. During his time, Albayrak also met with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss important issues between Turkey and the U.S.
Personal life
Berat Albayrak is married to Esra Erdoğan, the eldest daughter of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They have four children.
Book
Berat Albayrak wrote a book called Burası Çok Önemli (This is Very Important). In this book, he explains the economic ideas and plans he used when he was the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and the Minister of Treasury and Finance. The book uses examples and charts to show how his strategies worked.
Awards
In October 2019, a business magazine called GlobalCapital gave Turkey's Finance and Treasury Ministry an award. It was named the "Public Debt Management Office of the Year" for its "successful performance in debt management during difficult times."
