Şahap Kavcıoğlu (born 23 May 1967) is a Turkish banker and politician. He was a Member of the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by ...

for the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and was the Governor of the

Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) () is the central bank of Turkey. Its responsibilities include conducting monetary and exchange rate policy, managing international reserves of Turkey, as well as printing and issuing banknotes ...

from 2021 to 2023. He is also a contributor to the newspaper ''Yeni Safak'' and is described as a supporter of the economic policies of

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

Education

He graduated in economics at the

Dokuz Eylül University Dokuz Eylül University () (DEÜ) is a Public university, public research university in İzmir, Turkey. Founded in 1982, it is organized into 18 faculties. It holds the distinction of being the first university in Turkey to implement the probl ...

and followed up on his studies at the

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

obtaining a degree as an Audit Specialist. He studied

Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

at Hasting's College in England. In 2003, he earned a Ph.D from the Banking and Insurance Institute of the

Marmara University Marmara University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Marmara Üniversitesi'') is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university, named after the Sea of Marmara, was founded as a university in 1982. However, its ...

Professional career

Beginning in 1991, he served during nine years in several positions as well as an Assistant General Manager at Esbank. According to his

LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented Social networking service, social network. It was launched on May 5, 2003 by Reid Hoffman and Eric Ly. Since December 2016, LinkedIn has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft. ...

page, from 2003 onwards Kavcıoğlu served as a regional coordinator for two years and a deputy general manager for

Halkbank Halkbank () is a Turkish bank, first incorporated in 1933 as a Public bank, state-owned bank. After growing throughout much of the twentieth century, it began absorbing smaller-sized state banks around the turn of the millennium. Halkbank is now ...

for ten years. On 20 March 2021, Kavcıoğlu replaced Naci Ağbal as the Chief of the Turkish Central Bank the day after a raise of the interest rate to 19%. Since, Kavcıoğlu supported Erdoğans desires for lower interest rates and cut them from 19% to 15%. The lower interest of 15%, was met with a fall of the

Turkish Lira The lira (; Currency sign, sign: Turkish lira sign, ₺; ISO 4217, ISO 4217 code: TRY; abbreviation: TL) is the official currency of Turkey. It is also legal tender in the ''de facto'' state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. One lira i ...

(₺) to a temporary all-time low of 13.49 ₺ per

Dollar Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...

. By March 2023, the interest rate was cut to 8.5%. Since the re-election Erdoğan in May 2023 and the appointment of Mehmet Simsek as the new Minister of Finance, the media considered he would be replaced by

Hafize Gaye Erkan Hafize Gaye Erkan (born 1979, Istanbul) is the former governor of the Central Bank of Turkey. She is a former co-CEO and president of First Republic Bank and was a member of the company's board of directors. She is the former Chief executive of ...

, a former banker at

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

. On 8 June 2023, he was formally replaced by Erkan by a presidential decree by Erdoğan and now serves as the director of the

Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA; ) is an independent agency in Turkey whose task is to regulate and supervise the banking system in the country. It aims to "provid reliability and stability in financial markets", "ensur the ef ...

(BDDK).

Political career

Representing the Justice and Development Party (AKP) for

Bayburt Bayburt () is a city in northeast Turkey lying on the Çoruh River. It is the seat of Bayburt Province and Bayburt District.General Elections of November 2015.

Plagiarism allegations

He was accused of having performed

plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...

in the

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

he presented to the Marmara University, as passages in his thesis and the annual report of the Turkish Central Bank are exactly the same.

Publications

He is the author of several papers and two books.

Personal life

Kavcıoğlu is married and has three children and is a Congress Member of Galatasaray Sports Club and also the Dokuz Eylül University Alumni Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kavcıoglu, Sahap 1967 births Living people People from Bayburt Dokuz Eylül University alumni Istanbul University alumni Turkish economists Turkish bankers Justice and Development Party (Turkey) politicians Deputies of Bayburt Members of the 26th Parliament of Turkey Yeni Şafak people Governors of the Central Bank of Turkey