Öztürk Yılmaz (born 1970) is a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

former diplomat and politician. Having served as the Turkish embassy secretary to

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, he was appointed as the

Consul General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...

in 2013. He was taken hostage in June 2014 and held for 101 days along with 48 other diplomats after

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

militants took over the city, being released under undisclosed circumstances by the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) on 20 September 2014. He was elected as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for the electoral district of

Ardahan Ardahan (, ka, არტაანი, tr, hy, Արդահան, translit=Ardahan Russian: Ардаган) is a city in northeastern Turkey, near the Georgian border. It is the capital of Ardahan Province. History Ancient and medieval Ardahan ...

from the Republican People's Party (CHP) in November 2015 general election. In 2018, Yılmaz became an independent. In 2020, Yılmaz founded the Innovation Party.

Early life and career

Öztürk Yılmaz was born in 1970 in

, completing his early education there before graduating from the

Middle East Technical University Middle East Technical University (commonly referred to as METU; in Turkish, ''Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi'', ODTÜ) is a public technical university located in Ankara, Turkey. The university emphasizes research and education in engineering a ...

(ODTÜ) Department of International Relations. He began working for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

in 1996, serving as a manager in the departments responsible for the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...

and the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

. He completed a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in the

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish government. listof all ...

on the topic of

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

integration and development. He is married, has three children and can speak English, Russian and Portuguese.

Diplomatic career

In his overseas diplomatic career, Yılmaz was first appointed as Secretary to the Turkish Ambasssy to

and later to

. He also served as an Undersecretary to the Permanent Representation of Turkey to the

. On 13 July 2013, he was appointed as the

of Turkey to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

ISIL hostage crisis

While serving as the Consul General in Mosul while the city was under the occupation of

(ISIL) forces, Yılmaz and 48 other diplomatic staff and their family members were taken hostage by ISIL militants in June 2014. After 101 days and alleged negotiations between the government and ISIL, all 49 hostages were released and brought back to Turkey via Syria by the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) in September 2014. The circumstances of their release was unspecified, though the government claimed that no operation had been carried out. Opposition politicians and journalists alleged that the government had paid a

ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''re ...

to the militants to secure their release.

Political career

Although he was appointed as the Ambassador to

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

on 1 September 2015 after he was freed from ISIL, he resigned from this position two days later on 3 September to stand for

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

in the upcoming November 2015 general election as a Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate. His party of choice came as a surprise to many commentators because of an image of Yılmaz hugging Prime Minister and Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader

Ahmet Davutoğlu Ahmet Davutoğlu (; born 26 February 1959) is a Turkish academic, politician and former diplomat who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey and Leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) from 2014 to 2016. He previously served as Mi ...

shortly after being released from captivity in 2014. He was fielded as the CHP's top candidate in his hometown, the electoral district of

and was elected on 1 November 2015. He has since criticised the Turkish government's decision to send troops to

to train Kurdish fighters against ISIL, an incursion that had resulted in the souring of relations between Turkey and

. He became deputy chairman of the CHP. He is a prominent critic of the military operation Olive Branch in Afrin. On January 25, he said the Free Syrian Army is in fact the al-Qaeda and Turkey should watch the origin of its allies. This led to a wave of detentions of critics of the operation Olive Branch.

Innovation Party

In July 2020, Yılmaz founded the Innovation Party as a centrist Kemalist party.

References

External links

MP profile at the Grand National Assembly websiteCollection of all relevant news items at Haberler.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yilmaz, Ozturk Living people 1970 births People from Ardahan Deputies of Ardahan Contemporary Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Members of the 26th Parliament of Turkey Middle East Technical University alumni Turkish diplomats Ambassadors of Turkey to Brazil Turkish political party founders