Mehmet Simsek: From humble Kurdish village to ministry of finance

ERBIL, Iraq - Mehmet Simsek, a Kurd from Turkey’s Batman province, returns to his role as finance minister, a post he held from 2009 to 2015. Simsek came from humble beginnings in a small village and worked his way to become one of Turkey's most influential economists.

Mehmet Simsek was born on January 1, 1967, the youngest of eight children. His mother, Mehdiye, died when he was four years old. After that, his brother Ehmed Simsek took care of him and sent him to school.

They were very poor, Ehmed said, but despite that, all the brothers managed to study. Poverty forced Mehmet Simsek to change schools several times, between Qubin, Kercews, and Batman, but he remained dedicated to his scholastic achievements.

“He would go to the mountain, and while there, he would write on the rocks. He was passionate about his studies,” Ehmed said.

Faik Dogmus was one of Mehmet Simsek’s friends during high school. After finishing high school, he opened a shop, but Mehmet Simsek continued his studies. His friend says that Simsek used to walk long distances to school in order to study.

“He was a good, smart student. We walked to school. We used to walk about eight kilometres to school, and so did he,” Dogmus said.

After finishing high school, Simsek started studying in the economy department at Gazi University in Ankara, but switched to the political studies department. Later, he received a scholarship from Etibank to study for a master's degree in economy and finance.

Having studied in the UK, his international economic career gradually started to develop. In 2007, when he was working at an international bank, the son of then-president Abdullah Gul worked with him as an assistant. Gul spoke to his father and praised Simsek, thus opening the gate to his political career.

Simsek served as finance minister from 2009 to 2015. During his term in office, Turkey enjoyed a stable economy with the lira trading at a high value.

On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reinstated Simsek as finance minister. Hopes are that he can restore vigour to the economy, control soaring inflation and a cost of living crisis.