Mehmet Simsek served as the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Financial Affairs of Türkiye during 2015-2018. He previously served as the Minister of Finance (2009-15), and as the Minister of Economy (2007-09).

Mr. Simsek has formulated the fiscal policy which has helped Türkiye recover strongly from the global financial crisis. He has also undertaken far reaching reforms such as simplifying tax regulations, enhancing taxpayers’ rights, and reducing the size of shadow economy. During his 11 years of public service as a minister, Mr. Simsek was a strong advocate of structural reforms and prudent macroeconomic policies.

Before entering politics, he worked for Merrill Lynch in London for seven years. From 1998 to 2000, he was a senior economist and bank analyst at Deutsche-Bender Securities in Istanbul. Earlier in his career, he worked on Wall Street for UBS Securities in New York (1997-1998), and as a senior economist at the US Embassy in Ankara (1993-97).

Mr. Simsek holds a B.S. in Economics from Ankara University. He holds an M.PHil in Finance and Investments from Exeter University. Mr. Simsek is also a member of the Global Economic Symposium (GES) advisory board.