President Erdogan appoints Sedat Onal as new US ambassador
President Erdogan appointed new ambassadors, including Sedat Onal as Türkiye's envoy to the U.S., reflecting a move toward institutionalizing relations
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced the appointment of new ambassadors in a decree released in the Official Gazette early Friday.
Sedat Onal, currently serving as the United Nations envoy, has been named Türkiye's ambassador to the United States.
Ahmet Yildiz, the current deputy foreign minister, will replace Onal as the new envoy to the United Nations.
Rifat Cem Ornekol is set to become Türkiye's ambassador to Guinea, while Ahmet Ihsan Kiziltan will serve as Türkiye's ambassador to Chile.
Korhan Kemik has been appointed as Türkiye's ambassador to Vietnam, and Beliz Celasin Rende will take on the role of ambassador to Guatemala.
Additionally, Mehmet Sait Uyanik has been assigned as the ambassador to Bulgaria, Gokcen Kaya as the ambassador to Costa Rica, Semih Lutfu Turgut as the ambassador to Sri Lanka, and Ahmet Ergin as the ambassador to Equatorial Guinea.
Sedat Onal as an experienced diplomat
The appointment of Onal, who served as the deputy foreign minister from 2018 to 2023 and is known for successfully managing the tensions in Türkiye-U.S. relations during that period, is seen as a positive step for the future of relations.
Ankara has indicated its intention to return relations to an institutional basis by sending a career diplomat to Washington instead of a political appointment.
Diplomatic sources stated that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan informed both individuals of their new positions by phone.
Onal will take over the duties of the Washington Embassy from Murat Mercan, who represented Türkiye in the U.S. from 2021 to 2024.
In a political move, Mercan, a prominent figure in the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), was appointed as the ambassador to Washington. In response to Türkiye's decision, the U.S. appointed former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake as the ambassador of Türkiye.
Onal is well-known in Washington already
Türkiye's new ambassador to the U.S. is a well-known figure in Washington. Onal, who served as deputy foreign minister from 2018 to 2023 and oversaw all political files except relations with the European Union, worked with his American counterparts on bilateral relations, regional issues, and international issues.
Onal served as the ministry's second-in-command during the most challenging period of Türkiye-U.S. relations. He played an important role in managing significant bilateral tensions, such as Pastor Brunson and the S-400 crisis, as well as regional issues stemming from Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean, together with U.S. Deputy Secretaries of State Wendy Sherman and Victoria Nuland.
Ambassador Onal also played a significant role in the process of normalizing Turkish-American relations, especially since the end of 2021.
Following Joe Biden's election as U.S. president, Onal led the establishment of the Strategic Mechanism, which, on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aimed to reestablish Turkish-American relations at an institutional level.
Source: Newsroom
