The official gazette announced on Thursday that Naci Koru, a former deputy, was succeeded by Foreign Policy Consultative Committee member Ahmet Yıldız. Earlier this month, Koru was appointed as Turkey's permanent representative at the U.N.'s Geneva office.

Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yıldız has been a member of the Foreign Affairs Ministry since 1989. Yıldız worked as deputy head of the mission at the Damascus Embassy between 2000-2002 and 2005-2006, also worked as deputy head of mission at the Riyadh Embassy between 2004-2005. Moreover, from 2006 to 2008 Yıldız served as Turkey's consulate general in Jeddah. Additionally, he was appointed as the department head of the Foreign Ministry in Iraq between the years of 2008-2009 and worked as Turkey's consulate general in Mosul from 2009-2011.

From 2011 to 2014 Yıldız worked as Turkey's ambassador to Sarajevo. Since July 1, 2014 he has served as the principal consultant to the prime minister, in addition to serving as a member of the Foreign Policy Consultative Committee. When then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan became Turkey's first democratically elected president, Yıldız was appointed as the principal consultant on foreign policy for the presidency. Yıldız speaks English and Arabic.

Previously, the Foreign Ministry has replaced some top figures in the ministry with a governmental decree issued on June 10.

Feridun Sinirlioğlu, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), was previously appointed as the Undersecretary of the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations, the MFA announced. 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.