Turkey's Erdogan sworn in with new powers

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President Tayyip Erdogan appointed his son-in-law as Turkey's finance minister on Monday hours after he was sworn in with sweeping new executive powers, promising a "strong government and a strong Turkey."

Erdogan named his son-in-law Berat Albayrak as treasury and finance minister in an updated cabinet that excluded former deputy prime minister Mehmet Simsek, seen as the main market-friendly minister in the previous government.

The lira has been battered by concern about Erdogan's drive for lower interest rates and by comments in May that he planned to take greater control of the economy after the election, which he won on June 24.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's son-in-law and newly appointed Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak attends a presser at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey July 9, 2018. /VCG Photo

Assuming the new executive presidency he has long fought to establish, Erdogan earlier took the oath of office in parliament before addressing international leaders gathered at the presidential palace in Ankara.

Read more: Turkey's Erdogan sworn in as the first executive president

"We, as Turkey and as the Turkish people, are making a new start here today," he told the dignitaries and thousands of guests. "We are leaving behind the system that has in the past cost our country a heavy price in political and economic chaos."

Erdogan named Fuat Oktay, a former Turkish Airlines executive who studied in the US, as vice president. Armed forces chief of staff Hulusi Akar was named defense minister. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu remained in his post.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) presents Turkey's news Vice President Fuat Oktay (L) during a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, July 9, 2018. /VCG Photo

Erdogan, 64, says a powerful executive presidency is vital to drive economic growth, ensure security after a failed 2016 military coup and safeguard Turkey from war across its southern border in Syria and Iraq.

"We are embarking on this road by using this opportunity as best we can for a strong parliament, strong government and strong Turkey," he said.

The introduction of the new presidential system is the biggest overhaul of governance since the Turkish republic was established on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire nearly a century ago.

The post of prime minister has been scrapped and the president will be able to select a cabinet, regulate ministries and remove civil servants, all without parliamentary approval.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan poses with his new cabinet at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey July 9, 2018. /VCG Photo

Erdogan's supporters see the changes as just reward for a leader who has put Islamic values at the core of public life, championed the pious working classes and overseen years of strong economic growth.

Opponents say the move marks a lurch to authoritarianism, accusing Erdogan of eroding the secular institutions set up by modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Read more: Erdogan's political journey

State news agency Anadolu said Erdogan's inauguration celebration was attended by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

There are 16 ministers in Erdogan's streamlined new cabinet, which Erdogan has said will be more efficient and act faster.

The new government faces immediate economic challenges. Inflation surged last month above 15 percent, its highest level in more than a decade, even though the central bank has raised interest rates by 5 percentage points since April.

Turkey also faces a widening current account deficit making it reliant on weak foreign investment to plug the gap.

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Source(s): Reuters