Turkey’s Erdogan takes oath of office, ushering in his third presidential term

By SUZAN FRASER and CINAR KIPER
Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was sworn into his third presidential term, has reappointed an internationally respected former banker as finance minister in a sign that his new government might pursue more conventional economic policies. Erdogan on Saturday announced Mehmet Simsek would return to the Cabinet as treasury and finance minister. Erdogan won a new five-year term in a runoff presidential race last week that could stretch his 20-year rule, in the key NATO country that straddles Europe and Asia, into a quarter-century. He took the oath in a session in parliament before an inauguration ceremony attended by dozens of foreign dignitaries.