İnal Batu (24 September 1936 – 5 August 2013) was a Turkish diplomat, politician and member 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 ...

Biography

He was born on 24 September 1936 in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

as the son of Selahattin Batu (1905–1973), a zoologist and politician. He studied Diplomacy and Foreign Relations at the

Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University The Faculty of Political Science of the University of Ankara ( tr, Ankara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi, more simply known as "''SBF''") is the oldest faculty of social science in Turkey, being the successor of the "Mekteb-i Mülkiye" ( ...

, graduating in 1960. İnal Batu served at various Turkish diplomatic missions including

Lefkoşa Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaori ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

and as Ambassador to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He was also the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations from 1993 to 1995. It was emphasized that Batu played an important role in the resolution of the

Imia/Kardak Imia ( el, Ίμια) is a pair of small uninhabited islets in the Aegean Sea, situated between the Greek island chain of the Dodecanese and the southwestern mainland coast of Turkey. They are known in Turkey as Kardak. Imia was the object of a ...

crisis, which broke out in late 1995 between

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and Turkey, with his constructive ideas and proposals. Following the 2002 general election, he entered the parliament as a deputy of

Hatay Province Hatay Province ( tr, Hatay ili, ) is the southernmost province of Turkey. It is situated almost entirely outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province borders Syria to its south and east, the Turkish province of A ...

from the

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party ( tr, Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, , acronymized as CHP ) is a Kemalist and social-democratic political party in Turkey which currently stands as the main opposition party. It is also the oldest political party ...

, serving until 2007. He was member of the board of Fenerbahçe SK and served also as its vice president. Batu died from heart failure at the age of 76 on 5 August 2013 at a hospital in Istanbul, where he had been treated for two months. Following the religious funeral service at the

Teşvikiye Mosque The Teşvikiye Mosque is a neo-baroque structure located in the Teşvikiye neighbourhood of Şişli district in Istanbul, Turkey. History The mosque was originally commissioned in 1794 by Sultan Selim III, but most of the current mosque that s ...

, he was laid to rest at the

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery ( tr, Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı) is a modern burial ground residing on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of polit ...

. He was survived by his wife Nevra, daughter

Pelin Batu Pelin Batu (born 27 December 1978) is a Turkish author, actress, historian, and television personality. Biography Due to her father İnal Batu's career as a diplomat, she spent her childhood in many foreign countries including Pakistan, Cypru ...

, a film and television actress and son Arda Batu, an academic.

References

20th-century diplomats 1936 births 2013 deaths Ambassadors of Turkey to Italy Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences alumni Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Deputies of Hatay Fenerbahçe S.K. board members Members of the 22nd Parliament of Turkey Permanent Representatives of Turkey to the United Nations Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Turkish people of Circassian descent {{Turkey-politician-stub