21 Nov, 2024

Türkiye appoints new ambassadors to US, UN, others

By Stanley Obi 05 Apr, 2024 5 mins read 86 views

Turkey has designated a new cohort of ambassadors to represent the nation in various countries and international organizations. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan endorsed the decree, published in the Official Gazette early Friday, appointing Sedat Önal, the incumbent U.N. envoy, as Ankara's ambassador to Washington.

Ahmet Yıldız, the current deputy foreign minister, has succeeded Önal as the new envoy to the U.N.

Further ambassadorial appointments include Rıfat Cem Örnekol as Türkiye's ambassador to Guinea, Ahmet Ihsan Kızılltan as Türkiye's ambassador to Chile, Korhan Kemik as Türkiye's ambassador to Vietnam, and Beliz Celasin Rende as the ambassador to Guatemala.

Other notable appointments comprise Mehmet Sait Uyanık to Bulgaria, Gökçen Kaya to Costa Rica, Semih Lütfü Turgut to Sri Lanka, and Ahmet Ergin to Equatorial Guinea.

The newly appointed U.N. envoy, Yıldız, earned his undergraduate degree in international relations from Ankara University. He has held various governmental positions, including first-class consul at Türkiye's Consulate General in Mosul and ambassador to Sarajevo. Subsequently, he served as a senior diplomatic adviser to the prime minister and later to the president, before assuming the role of deputy foreign minister from 2016 to April 2018.

In 2018, Yıldız was elected to Parliament for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and served as the head of the Turkish Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and a member of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye and NATO Parliamentary Assembly. He resumed his position as deputy foreign minister on June 22, 2023.