30.04.2025 08:42
The U.S. Ambassador nominee to Ankara, Tom Barrack, has received approval from the Senate. Barrack, who has been a close associate of President Trump for many years, has also played an active role in election campaigns and fundraising organizations. Tom Barrack is also the former boss of the former Central Bank Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan.
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Businessman Thomas Barrack, who was nominated by US President Donald Trump for the position of Ambassador to Turkey, was approved as a result of the votes held in the Senate General Assembly.
HE RECEIVED THE MAJORITY OF VOTES In the first vote held today in the Senate, 62 votes were cast in favor of Thomas Barrack's candidacy against 36 "no" votes. The candidacy, supported by a simple majority in the first vote, was also accepted in the second and official approval vote with 60 "yes" and 36 "no" votes.
TRUMP'S CLOSE FRIEND Thomas Barrack is known for his investments in the business world, particularly in the real estate sector. Barrack, who has been part of President Donald Trump's close circle for many years, also played an active role in election campaigns and fundraising organizations.
The new ambassador is expected to start his duties in Ankara shortly.
Thomas Barrack HE HAD PRAISED TURKEY Tom Barrack, a close friend of Donald Trump and one of the most prominent Republican donors, stated during the Senate confirmation hearing at the beginning of April, "Turkey, our valuable NATO ally located at the most strategic crossroads of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, has countless contributions to NATO."
FORMER BOSS OF HAFİZE GAYE ERKAN It was revealed last December that Tom Barrack, a close friend of Trump and the US Ambassador to Ankara, was the former boss of Hafize Gaye Erkan, the former President of the Central Bank.
VISIT TO TURKEY BY THE "TURKISH FRIEND" Tom Barrack, known as the "Turkish friend," personally visited Turkey after Hafize Gaye Erkan became the President of the Central Bank.
During his visit to Ankara in 2023, Barrack visited Hafize Gaye Erkan in her office and was hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the presidential complex.
WHO IS TOM BARRACK? 77-year-old Barrack, who was born and raised in California, completed his undergraduate education at the University of Southern California and his law education at the University of San Diego.
Grandson of a Lebanese Christian immigrant family that migrated to the US from Zahle, Lebanon in 1900, Barrack grew up in Culver City, Los Angeles, where his father was a grocer and his mother was a secretary.
During his student years, Barrack was involved in sports by joining the rugby team and worked as a lawyer in Saudi Arabia.
Serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior under the Reagan administration in the 1980s, Barrack was a neighbor of Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the US, in the Rancho del Cielo area of California.
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