Volkan Bozkır

Volkan Bozkır
MP
Minister of European Union Affairs
In office
24 November 2015 – 24 May 2016
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu
Deputy Ali Şahin
Preceded by Beril Dedeoğlu
Succeeded by Ömer Çelik
In office
29 August 2014 – 28 August 2015
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu
Deputy Alaattin Büyükkaya
Preceded by Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
Succeeded by Ali Haydar Konca
Chief Negotiator for Turkish Accession to the European Union
In office
24 November 2015 – 24 May 2016
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu
Preceded by Beril Dedeoğlu
Succeeded by Ömer Çelik
In office
29 August 2014 – 28 August 2015
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu
Preceded by Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
Succeeded by Beril Dedeoğlu
Member of the Grand National Assembly
Assumed office
12 June 2011
Constituency İstanbul (II) (2011, June 2015, Nov 2015)
Permanent Representative of Turkey to the European Union
In office
15 December 2005 – 21 October 2009
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
Abdullah Gül
Preceded by Oğuz Demiralp
Succeeded by Selim Kuneralp
Ambassador of Turkey to Romania
In office
23 August 1996 – 17 August 2000
President Süleyman Demirel
Ahmet Necdet Sezer
Preceded by Yaman Başkut
Succeeded by Ömer Zeytinoğlu
Personal details
Born (1950-11-22) 22 November 1950
Ankara, Turkey
Political party Justice and Development Party (AKP)
Spouse(s) Nazlı Bozkır
Children 2
Alma mater Ankara University
Religion Islam
Website Ministry for EU Affairs

Volkan Bozkır (born November 22, 1950) is a Turkish diplomat and politician who served as the Minister of European Union Affairs from November 2015 to May 2016, having previously served from August 2014 to August 2015. He concurrently served as the Chief Negotiator for Turkish Accession to the European Union during the same time. He has served as a Member of Parliament for İstanbul's second electoral district since the 2011 general election.

Life and early career

Volkan Bozkır was born in Ankara, Turkey. He graduated from Faculty of Law at the Ankara University. He speaks fluent English and French.

Timeline of career

Function Office Year
Vice-consul General Consulate in Stuttgart,Germany 1975–1978
Second Secretary & First Secretary Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq 1978–1980
Chief of Section Bilateral Economic Department 1980–1982
First Secretary & Counselor Permanent Delegation to the OECD in Paris 1982–1986
Deputy Head of Department Multilateral Economic Affairs 1986–1987
Foreign Policy Advisor Prime Minister Turgut Özal's Office 1987–1989
Consul General New York, USA 1989–1992
Chief of Cabinet & Chief Foreign Policy Advisor President Turgut Özal & President Süleyman Demirel 1992–1996
Ambassador Bucharest, Romania 1996–2000
Deputy Secretary General for EU Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2000–2003
Deputy Under Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2003–2005
Ambassador Permanent Representative of Turkey to the European Union 2005–2009
Secretary General for EU Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2009–2011
Minister of EU Affairs Ministry of EU Affairs 2014–Present

Honours and medals

Ribbon bar Award or decoration Country Date Place Note Ref.
Order of the Star of Romania  Romania 1999 Bucharest Order od Star is the highest civil decoration of Romania [1]
Knight of Order of Merit of the Italian Republic  Italy 2 June 2014 Ankara Order of Merit is the highest ranking honour of the Republic of Italy [1]

Criticism

Bozkır caused controversy in 2014 when he reported during a press conference that Turkey would no longer participate in the Eurovision Song Contest after Conchita Wurst's victory in Eurovision Song Contest 2014 and made statements criticized as homophobic.[2][3] On September 5 the General Manager of TRT, İbrahim Şahin, officially announced that Turkey would not return to 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna.[4] Bozkır's comments during the press conference included "Each time I look at the Austrian [Wurst] who won the Eurovision Song Contest, I say ‘Thankfully, we’re not participating in this contest anymore.'"[5] Despite Bozkır's statements, the state television channel later confirmed that Turkey would return for the 2016 contest.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Minister for EU Affairs & Chief Negotiator Volkan BOZKIR". Ministry for EU Affairs of Turkey. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Granger, Anthony. "Turkey: "Will No Longer Participate" In Eurovision". Eurovoix. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Und die Türkei? "Will Turkey participate finally?" Check |url= value (help). eurovision.de.
  4. ↑ Jiandani, Sanjay (5 September 2014). "Turkey: TRT confirms no return to Eurovision in 2015". EscToday.com.
  5. ↑ "Turkey to return to Eurovision song contest in 2016: state TV". Hürriyet Daily News. 6 February 2014.
  6. ↑ Fidan, Mustafa (6 February 2015). "Turkey returns to Eurovision in 2016!". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
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