Ahmet Vakur Gökdenizler (born 25 August 1956) is a Turkish diplomat who served as Turkey's ambassador to the

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Early life and education

Ahmet Vakur Gökdenizler was born on 25 August 1956 in the

Kadıköy Kadıköy () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district on the Asian side of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 25 km2, and its population is 467,919 (2023). It is a large and populous area in the Asian si ...

district of

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. He graduated from

Kadıköy Maarif College Kadıköy () is a municipality and district on the Asian side of Istanbul Province, Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Th ...

in 1975. After high school, he continued his education at

Boğaziçi University Boğaziçi University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Boğaziçi Üniversitesi''), also known as Bosphorus University, is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey, historically tied to a former American educational insti ...

, earning a degree from the Faculty of Administrative Sciences, Department of Political Science, in 1979. Two years after graduating, Gökdenizler began working at the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Career

From 1988 to 1990, he served as the chief of staff to the minister of foreign affairs, and from 1995 to 1997, he was the head of department and deputy chief of staff to the president of Turkey

Süleyman Demirel Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the List of Presidents of Turkey, 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously serv ...

. Between 1997 and 2001, he served as the consul general in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, followed by roles as the head of the Aviation Department (2001–2004) and deputy director general of maritime and aviation affairs (2004–2006). From 15 December 2006 until 30 June 2010, he served as the permanent representative to the

. He was ambassador to

from 15 July 2010 until 19 August 2012. In December 2012, he was appointed director general of bilateral political affairs and maritime & aviation affairs. He was ambassador to

from 30 September 2015 until 9 January 2019.

Personal life

He is retired and is married to ambassador

Ebru Barutçu Gökdenizler Ebru Barutçu Gökdenizler (born 1959), is a Turkish diplomat and ambassador. Private life Ebru Barutçu was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1959. She is the grand daughter of politician Faik Ahmet Barutçu (1894–1959). She is married to diplomat a ...

References

{{Reflist Living people Boğaziçi University alumni Ambassadors of Turkey to Australia Ambassadors of Turkey to South Africa 21st-century Turkish diplomats