AK Party's first foreign minister, Yaşar Yakış, passed away at the age of 85.

The first Foreign Minister of the AK Party government, Yaşar Yakış, who was established in 2002, passed away at the age of 85. Yakış was expelled from the party in 2016 due to his criticisms of the AK Party.

WHO IS YAŞAR YAKIŞ?

Born in Düzce in 1938, Yakış was appointed as the deputy consul at the Consulate General in Antwerp in his first overseas assignment. Yakış served in various positions at the Embassies in Lagos, Rome, and Damascus, as well as at the NATO Permanent Representation in Brussels.

In 1985, Yakış established the ISCEDAK Coordination Board, which was established to provide secretarial services to the President of Turkey in the position of Chairman of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Yakış was appointed as the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Riyadh in 1988, and later served as the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Cairo and the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Turkey to the United Nations Office in Vienna and the International Organizations in Vienna. Ambassador Yakış served as the Deputy Undersecretary Responsible for Economic Affairs from 1992 to 1995.

APPOINTED AS THE FOREIGN MINISTER IN 2002

He retired from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2001 and entered politics as a founding member of the AK Party. He also served as the Deputy Chairman of the Party and a member of the Central Decision-Making Board. Yakış was elected as a member of parliament from Düzce in the general elections held on November 3, 2002, and was appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs on November 18, 2002. In the subsequent government change, he handed over his duties to Abdullah Gül.

EXPELLED FROM THE AK PARTY IN 2016

After leaving his parliamentary seat, he taught as a part-time lecturer at TOBB University of Economics and Technology. Following his criticisms, especially in foreign policy, directed towards the AK Party, he was expelled from the party on March 28, 2016.