Yasar YAKIS

Mr. Yasar Yakis is the Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey and President of STRATIM (Centre for Strategic Communication), a think tank based in Ankara. He studied political science in the Ankara University. He served 40 years in diplomacy in various posts. Mr. Yakis became Turkish Ambassador to Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) in 1988 and Turkish Ambassador to Cairo in 1995. He also served as Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations Office in Vienna. Retired in 2001, Mr. Yakis became founding member of the Justice and Development Party and Deputy Chairman of the Party in charge of international relations until the general elections of 3 November 2002. He was elected Member of Parliament in 2002 and became Minister of Foreign Affairs (2002-2003). Mr. Yakis served between 2003 and 2011 as the Chairman of the EU Committee in the Turkish Parliament and co-Chairman of the Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission. He participated as government representative in the European Convention that drafted the European Constitution. Mr. Yakis holds 4 decorations: Decoration of King Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, Stella della Solidarieta Italiana, Legion d’Honneur of France and Grand Cross of the order King Leopold II of Belgium).