Biographical Note

New Permanent Representative of Turkey Presents Credentials

 

(Based on Information Provided by the Protocol and Liaison Service.)

The new Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations, Ertuğrul Apakan, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Apakan served as the Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey from December 2006 until August 2009, and as Deputy Under-Secretary for Bilateral Political Affairs from 2004 to 2006.  From 2000, he was Director General for Bilateral Political Affairs and Maritime Affairs and Aviation.

Having joined the Foreign Ministry in 1971, Mr. Apakan held increasingly responsible positions, including as the Second Secretary in the General Directorate of Political Affairs (1975), Head of Section in the Department of Middle East and Africa (1980), and Head of the Department of Bilateral Economic Relations (1987).  He also served overseas as Second Secretary at the embassy in Vienna (1975), First Secretary in Kuwait (1978) and Counsellor of the Permanent Mission to the United Nations Geneva Office (1982).

In 1992, he was appointed Deputy Director General for Cyprus and Greece in the Foreign Ministry, and in 1996 the Turkish Government appointed him ambassador in northern Cyprus.

Mr. Apakan received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Ankara University and earned a master’s degree in economics at the Aegean University in Izmir, Turkey, in 1970.

Born in Bornova-Izmir, Turkey, in 1947, he is married with two children.

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