New appointments bring fresh air to Turkish Foreign Ministry

Announced with a governmental decree issued on Saturday, the Foreign Ministry assigned or reassigned dozens of ambassadors. Feridun Sinirlioğlu, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), has been appointed as the Undersecretary of the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations, the MFA announced on Friday. Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç was appointed as Turkey's ambassador to Belgrade. Sinirlioğlu is a long-serving diplomat, having served as ministerial undersecretary, prior to holding interim post as foreign minister for the caretaker government which governed Turkey until the early elections on Nov. 1. Sinirlioğlu also served as Turkey's ambassador in Tel Aviv from 2002 to 2007.

He also served as Chief Foreign Policy Adviser to Turkey's former Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel from 1996 to 2000, and the minister and deputy director general for the Middle East and North Africa from 2000 to 2002.

A number of other ambassadorial appointments were also announced, with Deputy Foreign Minister Naci Koru slated to become representative to the U.N. in Geneva, ambassador to Iraq Faruk Kaymakçı being assigned as representative to the EU, Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Ali Kemal Aydın will be ambassador to Germany, and Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Murat Salim Esenli will be ambassador to Italy.

Foreign Ministry Director-General for the Middle East and North Africa Can Dizdar was assigned as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Levent Murat Burhan will be ambassador to Ireland.

According to the same sources, EU Ministry Undersecretary Rauf Engin Soysal was appointed as Turkey's representative to the Organization for Security Cooperation and Development (OSCE).

Foreign Ministry Bilateral Political Relations Director-General Hulusi Kılıç will be ambassador to Moldova while Tunç Uğdul, formerly chief of Foreign Ministry Research and Security Affairs, was appointed as ambassador to Poland. Aslıgül Uğdul will be Turkey's ambassador to Slovakia.