Turkey's new Ambassador to Israel Mustafa Kemal Ökem was officially appointed after his name appeared in the country's official gazette on Wednesday.
On Nov. 30, the Turkish Foreign Ministry had officially announced Ökem's appointment to the post.
Ökem, previously the chief foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, will assume his duties on Dec. 12 after presenting his credentials to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
On Dec. 5, the new Israeli ambassador to Turkey, Eitan Na'eh, presented his credentials to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Before working for Yıldırım, Ökem advised former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. He worked for the Turkish Foreign Ministry's Middle East directorate and was previously posted overseas in Turkey's London and Riyadh embassies, according to the Foreign Ministry. He also spent time working as the permanent representative to NATO.
Born in Ankara in 1967, Ökem graduated from the Middle East Technical University and completed a master's and doctorate at the Ankara-based university. He also has a master's degree from Oxford University.
Turkey and Israel renewed ties in June following a six-year split over the raid on the Mavi Marmara aid ship in May 2010, when Israeli commandos killed 10 Turkish activists on the Gaza-bound vessel.
