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
Incumbent
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	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. "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.