The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey is the

government minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

who heads 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 ...

and is a member of the

Cabinet of Turkey The Cabinet of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Kabinesi) or Presidential Cabinet ( tr, Cumhurbaşkanlığı Kabinesi) is the body that exercises supreme executive authority in Turkey. It is composed of the President and the heads of the ministries. From ...

. The minister is responsible for overseeing the

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

of the government, though specific relations involving Turkey's accession negotiations with the

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 des ...

are handled by the

Directorate for EU Affairs In Turkey, the Directorate for EU Affairs ( tr, Avrupa Birliği Başkanlığı) is a government agency affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was founded in 2018, following the formation of the new government and after the dissolu ...

. The office was established in 1920 during the

Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

, after which

Bekir Sami Kunduh Bekir Sami Bey (known as Bekir Sami Kunduh in modern Turkish sources) ( os, Къуындыхаты Муссæйы фырт Бечыр; 1867 – 16 January 1933) was a Turkish politician of Ossetian origin. He served as the first Minister of Forei ...

became the first Minister to hold the office. The incumbent officeholder is

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (; born 5 February 1968) is a Turkish diplomat and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey since 24 November 2015. He previously served in the same position from August 2014 to August 2015. He is ...

, who took office on 24 November 2015 after Prime Minister

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 M ...

formed his third government.

History of the office

Ottoman era

Before the establishment of the

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

, foreign affairs were handled by the 'Reis-ül Küttap' (Head Secretary) of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

until the 19th century. In 1836, the Head Secretariat was upgraded to a Ministry and became the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Ottoman Empire, with the last Reis-ül Küttap, Yozgatlı Akif Efendi, becoming the first minister responsible.

Republic era

With the establishment of the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

during the War of Independence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey was established on 3 May 1920 with

becoming the first minister responsible, with the legislative Act No. 1154 in 1927 laying down the legal functions of the Foreign Ministry. The Turkish diplomatic service was significantly expanded after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

despite

ASALA Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) was a militant organization active between 1975 and the 1990s whose stated goal was "to compel the Turkish Government to acknowledge publicly its responsibility for the Armenian genocide i ...

terrorist attacks against Turkish diplomats occurring in the 1970s.

List of Ministers of Foreign Affairs

Since the office was established in 1920, there have been 43 Ministers of Foreign Affairs. Ministers are appointed by the

Prime Minister of Turkey The prime minister of the Republic of Turkey (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanı'') was the head of government of the Republic of Turkey from 1920 to 2018, who led a political coalition in the Grand National Assembly of ...

as part of his or her cabinet, after which the

President of Turkey The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the government of Tu ...

validates the appointment of the minister. The minister is usually 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 bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

, though Prime Ministers reserve the right to appoint ministers from outside parliament if they see fit. A notable example was the appointment of

as foreign minister in 2009 despite not being an MP.

References

{{reflist

External links