In October, Turkiye’s Foreign Ministry announced new appointments to a host of its embassies worldwide, including those in London and Lefkoşa.

The outgoing Turkish ambassador to Britain, Ambassador Ümit Yalçın, is being replaced by Ambassador Osman Koray Ertaş, while Ambassador Ali Murat Başçeri’s replacement in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, Metin Feyzioğlu, has already taken up his new role.

About Ambassador Metin Feyzioğlu

Feyzioğlu’s appointment as ambassador to Lefkoşa comes at a time of major change in Turkiye’s Cyprus policies. Taking its cue from the TRNC President Ersin Tatar, the Turkish government is now openly backing a two-state solution in Cyprus.

In September, President Erdoğan called for states to recognise the TRNC during his address at the UN General Assembly, while diplomatic efforts have helped the TRNC secure Observer Member status at the Organization of the Turkic States and an official visit by the Vice President of Gambia to the TRNC. The ramifications of such a seismic policy shift in Ankara involve both legal and political considerations.

Unlike his predecessor, Ambassador Metin Feyzioğlu is not a career diplomat. The son of Turhan Feyzioğlu, who was the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkiye (1975-1977) during Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel’s tenure, Metin Feyzioğlu is a lawyer by profession who reached prominence as head of Turkiye’s Barolar Birliği (Turkish Bar Association).

Istanbul born Feyzioğlu, 53, graduated in law from Ankara University, going on to obtain a master’s and later a PhD in public law from the same institution, before shifting his focus to criminal law. He returned to Ankara University in 1996 to teach and remained with the faculty for over a decade, where  he became an associate professor in 2000, then a professor in 2005. In 2007, he was appointed the dean of the Ankara University Faculty of Law.

 

In October 2010, Feyzioğlu was voted as the head of the Ankara Bar Association with a majority of votes. Three years later, he became the President of the national Barolar Birliği and for many years was an outspoken critic of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), criticising them for interfering with the judiciary’s independence, and limiting the rights and freedoms of Turkish citizens.

Feyzioğlu’s eight-year term as President of the Barolar Birliği has occasionally been controversial, breaching the organisation’s neutrality commitment by commenting on a host of political events, including criticising opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and calling for him to resign after the 2015 General Elections.

He lost the support of lawyers when he failed to speak out in support of chairmen of regional bar associations who came under physical attack from police in 2020 when they were protesting against government reforms of their profession. Feyzioğlu was replaced as President of the Barolar Birliği by Erinç Sağkan in 2021.

During his time as Barolar Birliği head, Feyzioğlu has shown a serious interest in the legal dimension of the Cyprus Conflict. Under his watch, the Barolar Birliği hosted several major conferences, including in Ankara in September 2019, to discuss the opening of Varosha / Maraş and addressing ownership of Cyprus’ offshore hydrocarbons.

About Ambassador Osman Koray Ertaş

Ambassador Osman Koray Ertaş has enjoyed a more classic progression during his diplomatic career that has seen him serve in Washington and more recently in Romania.

Ertaş was born in İskenderun in 1974. He graduated from Ankara University in 1996 with a degree in International Relations. He went on to gain his master’s degree in European Studies at the University of Sussex. He is currently studying for his doctoral studies, looking at the Muslim Turkish Minority of Bulgaria in the field of Conflict Analysis and Resolutions at George Mason University.

He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1997, where he has held various positions. During Abdullah Gül’s tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ertaş became the Deputy Chief of Staff (2005-2007). When Gül became President of Turkiye, Ertaş assumed the role of Deputy Director of the Presidential Office (2007-2008).

 

Ertaş was then appointed as Undersecretary of Turkiye’s Washington Embassy, where he served from 2008-2011. On his return to Ankara, he became the Deputy Director General of Information at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He became a member of the Foreign Policy Advisory Board in 2012, and served as the Chief of Staff of the President, with the title of Ambassador, between 2011 and 2014.

Between October 2014 and December 2018, Ambassador Ertaş served in Bucharest Embassy of the Republic of Turkiye.

In 2019, he became a special adviser to the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.

No start date has been given, but Ambassador Ertaş is expected to commence his new role in London in December or early January 2023.