Ayşe Sinirlioğlu (born 4 April 1956) is a Turkish diplomat, who has been her country's ambassador to Romania and then to Spain and Andorra. She became Turkey's first woman deputy undersecretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2015 she was the
Sherpa
SHERPA (Securing a Hybrid Environment for Research Preservation and Access) is an organisation originally set up in 2002 to run and manage the SHERPA Project.
History
SHERPA began as an endeavour to support the establishment of a number of open ...
during Turkey's presidency and the Antalya summit of the
G20
The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, the European Union (EU), and the African Union (AU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stabil ...
group of countries.
Personal life
Ayşe Sinirlioğlu was born in
Nevşehir
Nevşehir (; from 'new' and 'city') is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Nevşehir Province and Nevşehir District. After earning a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
from the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Science at
Marmara University
Marmara University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Marmara Üniversitesi'') is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university, named after the Sea of Marmara, was founded as a university in 1982. However, its ...
in 1977, she received a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate 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 prac ...
in
European integration
European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...
law from
University of Amsterdam
The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...
in 1988. In 1996, Sinirlioğlu was awarded a doctorate in political science from
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 ...
.
She is married to
Feridun Sinirlioğlu
Feridun Hadi Sinirlioğlu (born 30 January 1956) is a Turkish diplomat and politician serving as the Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) since 6 December 2024. Previously, he served as permanent ...
, diplomat and former
minister 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 foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
of Turkey.
Career
Sinirlioğlu entered the service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1984. After a brief service in the Department for Bilateral Economic Affairs, she was appointed vice consul to the General Consulate in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
, Netherlands, in 1985, where she served until 1988. Between 1988 and 1990, she was in
Aleppo
Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
, Syria, as vice consul and then as consul. Before she was assigned to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, United States, as consul in 1992, she served in the Ministry's West European and
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
Countries Department and as first secretary to the prime minister. In 1996, she returned home to become head of the section head of the Department for Balkan Countries. Later, she was promoted to the head of Department for Central Asia and Caucasus. Between 1999 and 2002, Sinirlioğlu served as counselor and then as first counselor at Permanent Representation of Turkey to the UN Office in
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, Switzerland. From 2002 to 2004, she was first counselor in
the Turkish Embassy in
Amman
Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...
, Jordan. After coming back to the ministry, she served as department head and then as deputy director general, minister-plenipotentiary in the Department for Bilateral Economic Affairs.
On 20 April 2008, she was appointed ambassador to Romania serving in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
until 15 April 2011. Her next service was as ambassador to Spain and Andorra from 12 May 2011 to 1 August 2014.
From September 2014 on, Sinirlioğlu acted as deputy undersecretary for economic affairs at the ministry and
G20
The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, the European Union (EU), and the African Union (AU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stabil ...
Sherpa
SHERPA (Securing a Hybrid Environment for Research Preservation and Access) is an organisation originally set up in 2002 to run and manage the SHERPA Project.
History
SHERPA began as an endeavour to support the establishment of a number of open ...
of Turkey. It was the first time in the bureaucracy history of Turkish diplomacy that a woman was appointed to the post of a deputy undersecretary. Her spouse Feridun Sinirlioğlu was undersecretary of the ministry at that time.