Basat Öztürk (born 7 December 1963) is a Turkish diplomat. He has served as Ambassador to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

from 2018 to 2023.

Early life

Basat Öztürk was born in

Elazığ Elazığ () is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, and the administrative centre of Elazığ Province and Elazığ District. It is located in the uppermost Euphrates valley. The plain on which the city extends has an altitude of . El ...

on 7 December 1963. He graduated from

Ankara University Ankara University ( tr, Ankara Üniversitesi) is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the formation of the republic in 1923. The university has 40 vocat ...

, Faculty of Political Sciences in 1985. In 1996 he enrolled into the

NATO Defense College NATO Defense College (NDC) is the international military college for North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries. It is located in Rome, Italy. History The idea of a NATO Defense College originated with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the f ...

Career

After graduating from university in 1985, he entered 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 entit ...

serving as the third secretary and attache in the NATO department. From 1989 and 1994 he served in the Turkish embassy in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

and the consulate in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He then served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in several NATO related positions until 2000. Öztürk served as Consul General in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

between 2002 and 2004. From 2004 he was involved with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assuming the position as its Deputy Director-General of Maritime and Aviation from 2007 to 2009. He became an ambassador to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

on 19 October 2009. On 17 November 2013, Öztürk replaced NATO Deputy Secretary General

Hüseyin Diriöz Hüseyin Diriöz is a retired Turkish ambassador, most notably serving as Ambassador to Moscow and as former Assistant Secretary General of NATO for Defence Policy and Planning. Personal life After completing high school at the Tarsus American C ...

, whose term of office expired in 2013. He was nominated but a German candidate was selected. He served as General Manager of Multilateral Political Affairs from 1 December 2013 and 15 March 2015 and has been General Manager of International Security Affairs from 15 March 2015 and 16 October 2016. On 17 October 2016, he served as the first civilian deputy undersecretary of the

Ministry of National Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

until 9 July 2018. Öztürk became the Permanent Representative of Turkey to NATO on 15 November 2018. He was replaced by his successor,

Zeki Levent Gümrükçü Zeki Levent Gümrükçü (born in 1968), is a Turkish politician and diplomat who is currently the ambassador to NATO since 16 January 2023. Biography Gümrükçü was born in Ankara in 1968. He is a graduate of Ankara Atatürk Anatolian High ...

, on 16 January 2023.

Personal life

Öztürk speaks English. He is married and has two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Öztürk, Basat Living people 1963 births Ankara University alumni Permanent Representatives of Turkey to NATO Ambassadors of Turkey to Afghanistan People from Elazığ