First Woman Appointed as Head of Central Bank of Turkey, Amid Signs of Tightening Monetary Policy

Türkiye’s economy

Amid signs that Turkey is moving away from unconventional economic policies, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed Dr. Hafiza Ghaya Arkan as head of the Central Bank, to become the first woman to head the Central Bank of Turkey.

The Official Gazette published the presidential decree signed by Erdogan regarding the appointment of staff.

The Turkish Central Bank is preparing to change course and tighten monetary policy after years in which it cut interest rates and witnessed a crisis in the cost of living, and Hafez Arkan will replace Shihab Qafji Oglu, who led Erdogan’s campaign to cut interest rates, which launched a historic collapse of the currency in 2021 and pushed inflation to a peak of 24 years when it exceeded 85% last year.

The central bank cut the interest rate to 8.5% from 19% in 2021.

This comes amid signals from the Turkish president to move away from unconventional monetary policies.

Arkan was born in Istanbul in 1982 and graduated from the University of Bosphorus, Department of Industrial Engineering in 2001, before completing her studies in the United States of America and obtaining a PhD in operations research and financial engineering from Princeton University, according to the Turkish “Anatolia” agency.

Arkan obtained two educational programs, the first in the field of management science from Harvard Business School, and the second on leadership from Stanford University.

Arkan began her career in 2005 at the American “Goldman Sachs” financial and investment services institution and continued for 9 years, before moving to work at the “First Republic Bank” in 2014, for a period of 8 years.

Arkan also served as chairperson of the board of directors of “Tiffany & Co”, which is considered one of the largest American companies specialized in jewelry, before working in 2022 on the board of directors of “Marsh McLennan” global financial consulting company, which is included in the “Fortune 500” list issued by Fortune magazine and concerned with rating The 500 largest companies in the United States of America.

Arkan has significant experience in banking, investment, risk management, technology and digital innovation, and is a member of the advisory board of the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering at Princeton University.

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