Hakan Çakıl Explained

Hakan Çakıl
Predecessor:Çağatay Erciyes
Prior Term1:18 June 2018
Termend:28 February 2021
Termend1:18 June 2018
Termstart:4 July 2018
Succeeded1:Melih Ulueren
Predecessor1:Mustafa Pulat
Office1:Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria
Office:Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon
Spouse:Esin Çakıl
Nationality:Turkish
Birth Date:23 September 1964
Birth Place:Ankara, Turkey
Termstart1:15 August 2015
Succeeded:Ali Barış Ulusoy
Education:Middle East Technical University (BA)

Hakan Çakıl (pronounced as /tr/; born 23 September 1964) is a Turkish diplomat and ambassador. He served as the Turkish ambassador to Lebanon from April 7, 2018, to February 28, 2021,[1] and during his tenure in Beirut, he experienced the massive explosion on August 4, 2020. The explosion caused significant damage to the ambassador's residence, although Çakıl himself was not injured.[2]

Following the Beirut explosion, Çakıl, representing the Turkish government, offered his nation's hand in repairing and restoring the Saint George Maronite Cathedral and the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque in an Al Jazeera Arabic appearance.[3] He discussed Lebanon's dire economic circumstances at the time of the explosion in an interview with Anadolu Agency.[4] He also discussed Turkey's response to the crisis, and the general aftermath of the Beirut explosion in a CNN Turk interview.[5]

Previously, he served as the Turkish ambassador to Nigeria from August 15, 2015, to June 18, 2018. Currently, he serves as the ambassador-representative of the Foreign Ministry in Diyarbakir,[6] the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey.[7]

On the aftermath of 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, Çakıl was stationed to Hatay, a city devastated by its close proximity to the earthquake's epicenter, where he coordinated with international rescue teams from Vietnam,[8] Indonesia,[9] and Bosnia.[10]

Life and career

Born in Ankara, he spent his childhood and early adulthood in the Turkish capital where he earned a bachelor's degree in Sociology from Middle East Technical University. Çakıl began his career at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1990. He held various diplomatic positions in Turkey's embassies to Kuwait, Austria, the Netherlands, and Northern Cyprus prior to his ambassadorial roles. His wife, Esin Çakıl (née Özkan), is a fellow diplomat. She currently serves as Turkey's ambassador to Bahrain.[11]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: T.C. Dışişleri Bakanlığı - Turkish Embassy In Beirut - Büyükelçilik Tarihi ve Önceki Büyükelçilerimiz . 2023-11-14 . beirut-emb.mfa.gov.tr.
  2. Web site: Yetkin . Murat . 2020-08-08 . A new perspective on Lebanon explosion amid conspiracies . 2023-11-14 . Yetkin Report . en-US.
  3. Web site: تضررا من انفجار المرفأ.. تركيا تعرض ترميم مسجد الأمين وكاتدرائية مار جرجس وسط بيروت . 2023-11-14 . الجزيرة نت . ar.
  4. Web site: Lübnan Büyükelçisi Çakıl: Lübnan ekonomik olarak çok kötü bir dönemde patlamaya yakalandı . 2023-11-14 . www.aa.com.tr.
  5. Web site: 2020-08-05 . Son dakika! Beyrut Büyükelçisi CNN TÜRK'te anlattı! Patlama sabotaj mı, ihmal mi? . 2023-11-14 . CNN TÜRK . tr.
  6. Web site: Rektör Demir Büyükelçi Hakan Çakıl’ı Ziyaret Etti . 2023-11-14 . batman.edu.tr . tr-TR.
  7. Bois . Th . Minorsky . V. . MacKenzie . D. N. . 2012-04-24 . Kurds, Kurdistān . Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition . en.
  8. Web site: Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ tin tưởng vào sự phát triển mạnh mẽ trong quan hệ với Việt Nam - Ảnh thời sự quốc tế - Chính trị-Quân sự - Thông tấn xã Việt Nam (TTXVN) . 2023-11-14 . vnanet.vn.
  9. Web site: February 24, 2023 . The Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs Arrives in Hatay, Hands Over Humanitarian Aid and Observes the Indonesian Team . Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Indonesia.
  10. Web site: 2023-02-17 . SOS BIHAĆ: Radili smo srcem i u skladu sa našim mogućnostima (VIDEO) - KEX.ba . 2023-11-14 . bs-BA.
  11. Web site: BNA . February 18, 2023 . Turkish Ambassador: Thank you Bahrain, Türkiye will never forget your solidarity . Manama.