Onur Öymen (born 1940) is a Turkish diplomat, politician and writer. He was the ambassador of Turkey to Denmark and then to Germany. He also served as the permanent representative of Turkey to NATO. After he retired from diplomatic post in 2002 he became a member of the

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...

and was its deputy chairman between 2003 and 2010. Öymen was also a member of the Turkish Parliament for two terms.

Early life and education

Öymen was born in

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 ...

, Istanbul, on 18 October 1940. His parents were Münir Raşit Nuri Öymen and Nebahat Öymen. His father was the uncle of politician and journalist

Altan Öymen Mehmet Altan Öymen (born 20 June 1932) is a Turkish journalist, author and former politician. Biography Öymen was born on 20 June 1932. He completed his secondary education at the Atatürk High School in Ankara. He graduated from the School ...

and journalist Örsan Öymen. Öymen graduated from

Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School (, ), established in Istanbul in 1481, is the oldest and Selective school, highly selective high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational institution after Istanbul University, which was establi ...

and received a degree from the Faculty of Political Sciences at

Ankara University Ankara University () is a public university, public research university in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the History of the Republic of Turkey, formation of the Turkish republ ...

in 1963. He obtained his Ph.D. from the same university, and his thesis is about technological developments and defense policies.

Career and activities

After he finished his doctorate Öymen joined 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 ...

in 1964. He was the undersecretary at the Turkish Embassy in

Lefkoşa Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capita ...

, Cyprus, between 1974 and 1978. He was appointed to the same post in Prague in 1980 and in Madrid in 1982. He returned to Ankara in 1984 and held various positions at the Ministry. He was the ambassador of Turkey to Denmark between 1988 and 1990. His next diplomatic post was the ambassador of Turkey to Germany which he held between 1990 and 1995. One of the significant events occurred during this period was the murder of five Turkish people in an

arson attack Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

by the

neo-Nazis Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), to att ...

Solingen Solingen (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr. After Wuppertal, it is the second-largest city in the Bergisches Land, and a member of ...

, Germany, on 28–29 May 1993. Following the incident Öymen and the German Foreign Minister

Klaus Kinkel Klaus Kinkel (17 December 1936 – 4 March 2019)
Arab-Israeli peace process The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory that was acknowledged as Israeli by ...

. He and the deputy chief of staff

Çevik Bir Çevik Bir (born 1939) is a Turkish Army, Turkish retired army general. He was a member of the Turkish General Staff in the 1990s. He took a major part in several important international missions in the Middle East and North Africa. He was born i ...

were instrumental in improving the relations with Israel in 1996. Öymen was appointed permanent representative of Turkey to NATO in 1997 and remained in office until his retirement in 2002. Öymen joined the Republican People's Party after his retirement from diplomatic post and was elected as a deputy from the party representing İstanbul in the general election in November 2000. He was made deputy chairman of the party on 5 November 2003 and remained in office until 23 May 2010. He was fired from the post when

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (; born 17 December 1948), also referred to by his initials KK, is a Turkish politician who served as the Leader of the Republican People's Party, leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) from 2010 to 2023. He was Lis ...

became the president of the party succeeding

Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal (20 July 1938 – 11 February 2023) was a Turkish politician. A member of the Republican People's Party (CHP) who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1996. Having served in numerous governmen ...

in the post. Öymen was the major figure in articulating the party's

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

policy. He was elected to the Parliament in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

held in 2007 from Bursa, and his tenure ended in 2011.

Personal life and work

Öymen is married and has two children, a daughter and a son. Burak Öymen, his son, is a businessman and married Czech model Tereza Maxová in

Didim Didim is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Aydın Province, Turkey. Its area is 424 km2, and its population is 97,000 (2022). It is a popular seaside holiday resort on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of western Turkey, from t ...

in October 2016. Öymen has published various books most of which are about

foreign relations of Turkey Foreign relations of Turkey refer to diplomatic and trade ties between Turkey and other nations.Robins, Philip. Turkey and the Middle East. London: Royal Institute of International Affairs and New York: Council on Foreign Relations Press, 199 ...

and politics.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oymen, Onur 20th-century Turkish diplomats 21st-century Turkish diplomats 21st-century Turkish non-fiction writers 1940 births Living people Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences alumni Ambassadors of Turkey to Denmark Ambassadors of Turkey to West Germany Galatasaray High School alumni Permanent representatives of Turkey to NATO People from Kadıköy Diplomats from Istanbul Deputies of Istanbul Deputies of Bursa Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Members of the 22nd Parliament of Turkey Members of the 23rd Parliament of Turkey