President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has appointed Deputy Foreign Minister Burhanettin Duran as the new head of the Presidential Communications Directorate, according to a decree published in the Official Gazette on Wednesday.
Duran replaces Fahrettin Altun, who was named a member of the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye (TIHEK). The decision was signed by President Erdoğan.
Alongside Altun’s new appointment, Muhammet Ecevit Çarti was named deputy chair of TIHEK. The new members appointed to the board include Dilek Ertürk, Fatma Çınar, Erol Gökdöl, Melahat Demir Aydın, Selma Öztürk Pınar, Tayyip Uçar, Evren Başar, Ömer Çelen, and Selami Açan.
A former Daily Sabah columnist, Duran is a graduate of political science and international relations from the esteemed Boğaziçi University and a holder of an MA and Ph.D. in political science and public administration from Bilkent University. He was appointed as deputy foreign minister by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in May 2024.
In addition to having authored countless articles on Turkish intellectual history, foreign policy, extremism, Europe, democracy and civil society, in both Turkish and English, Duran has been the head of the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) since its foundation in 2015.
He was named a member of the Presidential Board of Security and Foreign Policies in 2018.
