Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Economy (2002–2015) He entered politics in 2001 as a co-founder and a board member of the
Justice and Development Party and was elected to
parliament as deputy for
Ankara on 3 November 2002. He was appointed
Minister of Economy on 18 November 2002 and became the youngest member of the cabinet, then at the age of 35. On 24 May 2005 Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced his appointment as chief negotiator in Turkey's accession talks with the
European Union, which started on 3 October 2005. As government minister Babacan attended several international meetings including the
World Economic Forum in
Davos,
Switzerland, and the
Bilderberg Group. In 2019, Babacan left the ruling
AKP, citing "deep differences" over the party's direction as a reason.
Leader of the DEVA (2020–present) Babacan confirmed his intent to form this party in a late 2019 interview with journalist Şirin Payzın of T24, and expects his party to be a "mainstream party" with particular focuses on minority rights, a return to Turkey's parliamentary system, fair processes in courts and legislation, and restoring freedom of speech and expression. Babacan is quoted as saying that "the nation will give our party its name". On 9 March 2020, he founded
Democracy and Progress Party, abbreviated as "DEVA" or "remedy" in Turkish. The DEVA Party held its first meeting of the Board of Founders on 10 March 2020, where he was unanimously elected chairman. == Personal life ==