Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The ceremony was attended by TOBB Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees Faik Yavuz, TOBB ETÜ Rector Prof. Dr. Yusuf Sarınay, academics, university students and many people.

In his speech at the ceremony, Yavuz said that Serdengeçti started his career at the Central Bank in the 1980s and worked in key areas such as foreign exchange transactions, open market operations and reserve management.

Reminding that Serdengeçti served as the Governor of the CBRT between 2001 and 2006, Yavuz stated the following: “With the responsibility he assumed after the 2001 economic crisis, he led a period in which the Turkish economy regained its body. Within 3 years, he initiated a process that reduced inflation from double digits to single digits, and the removal of six zeros from the lira had positive impacts on the economic structure. During this successful period of fight against incredible odds, Mr. Süreyya’s meticulous analysis, decisive stance and the importance he attached to public-private sector cooperation laid the foundations of confidence and stability in the economy.”

Yavuz said that Mr. Serdengeçti always attached importance to dialog with the private sector and developed bold policies in the fight against inflation.

Stating that Serdengeçti’s determination in the management of the economic crisis kept hope alive even in the darkest days of Türkiye, Yavuz said: “After his term of office ended in 2006, he continued to share his knowledge and experience with young people as a lecturer at TOBB ETU and made valuable contributions to the world of economics as the Director of the Stability Institute at the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Türkiye. As the TOBB ETU family, he inspired his esteemed students and young academics, and left deep traces in the academic world. With his belief in the transformative effect of the power of knowledge, countless students grew up under his guidance. He contributed to Türkiye’s macroeconomic planning with his work at TEPAV, and pioneered the generation of ideas in academic and political fields by multiplying intellectual debates.”

- “Türkiye has lost an important asset”

TOBB ETU Rector Prof. Dr. Sarınay said that Türkiye had lost an important asset and that Serdengeçti had achieved great success in Türkiye’s fight against inflation during his tenure as Governor of the Central Bank.

Sarınay said that Serdengeçti was a statesman who won the admiration of everyone in Türkiye with his achievements, and that in his lectures at TOBB ETU, he transferred his knowledge and experience at the Central Bank to students, and that he trained many young and dynamic economists and economists for Türkiye.

During the ceremony, a video of an interview with Serdengeçti was shown, and academics and students at TOBB ETU talked about their memories of Serdengeçti.

Serdengeçti’s funeral was buried after the prayer at Maltepe Mosque.