Turkish diplomat seeks to become OSCE secretary-general

Turkey’s visibility in multilateral diplomacy, with posts at international organizations, is likely to further grow with Ambassador Ersin Ercin seeking to become the next secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Turkish daily Today Zaman reports.

Ambassador Ercin, currently representing Turkey in Brazil, is also President Abdullah Gül’s special envoy for European security. Erçin has already secured support from a considerable number of the 56-member security organization tor replacing the outgoing secretary-general, Ambassador Marc Perrin de Brichambaut of France. Gül will support Ercin’s bid during the 2010 OSCE Summit of Heads of State or Government which will take place in Astana, Kazakhstan on Dec. 1-2.

After joining the Turkish Foreign Ministry in 1982, Ercin served in different departments at the headquarters in Ankara, including the departments of economic relations; international security, military relations and disarmament; maritime and aviation; Balkans; and America. In addition to missions in Khartoum and Damascus, he served at Turkey’s permanent representative offices to international organizations such as the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations. From 2001 to 2004, he was deputy permanent representative at the OSCE, Vienna, and from 2004 to 2006, he was deputy permanent representative to the UN in New York.

Erçcn most recently served as deputy director general for the Americas at the headquarters before being posted to Brasilia as ambassador in May 2009.

A number of Turkish officials, ranging from Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu to Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) President Mevlut Çavusoglu, have been at the helm of key international organizations. Turkish Ambassador Rauf Engin Soysal was recently appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as the new United Nations special envoy for assistance to Pakistan. Earlier this year, Ambassador Hüseyin Diriöz was appointed as NATO deputy secretary-general responsible for defense policy and planning, while Ambassador Selim Kuneralp was elected as chairman of the Energy Charter Conference.

In 2009 Turkey assumed, for two years, a seat at the United Nations Security Council and presided over the powerful council for a month. It is currently chairing the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and holds the rotating chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.