Former Turkish FM and Arab News columnist Yasar Yakis is no more

ANKARA: Turkiye’s former foreign minister and distinguished Arab News columnist Yasar Yakis died on Wednesday. He was 86.
Yakis had been undergoing cancer treatment at a private hospital in Ankara for some time.
A former diplomat, Yakis served as foreign minister in the first government formed by the Justice and Development Party, also known as the AKP, in 2002. He was decorated by the Saudi government with the Order of King Abdul Aziz (1st Degree) in 1992 for his contribution to the improvement of Saudi-Turkish relations.
“At a time when global politics lacks adults in the room, heavyweights of the caliber of Yasar Yakis will certainly be missed,” said Arab News Editor-in-Chief Faisal J. Abbas.
“As a columnist for our newspaper, he always added insight, context and a rational voice to our coverage. He will be dearly missed, our condolences to his family,” said Abbas.
Yakis penned a regular column for Arab News since February 2017. He brought vast global knowledge and long years of experience as his country’s chief diplomat, as well as a deep understanding of Arab affairs.
Born in 1938, Yakis’ first posting abroad was as deputy consul at the consulate general in Antwerp, Belgium. Throughout his career, Yakis held various posts, including ambassadorships in Riyadh, Rome, Cairo, Damascus and Lagos, as well as being Turkiye’s permanent representative to NATO in Brussels. He was a senior associate member at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, between 2012 and 2014.
In 1985, Yakis founded and chaired the Coordination Committee of the Standing Committee on Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
In 1988, he was appointed as the Turkish ambassador to Riyadh, followed by an ambassadorial post in Cairo and as permanent representative of Turkiye to the UN Office and other international organizations in Vienna. From 1992 to 1995, he was deputy undersecretary for economic affairs.
He retired from the Foreign Ministry in 2001 and entered politics as a founding member of the AKP. He served as deputy chairman and member of the Central Decision and Administration Board. He was elected to parliament in 2002 and was quickly appointed minister of foreign affairs in the same year.
Known as a prominent intellectual who was fluent in French, English and Arabic, Yakis was often quoted in the Turkish and Arabic media thanks to his objective and in-depth insights, backed by his diplomatic experience.
Yakis was often present at ambassadorial events in Ankara. He was always accompanied by his beaming wife and their unwavering love was evident to an outsider’s eye.
What struck one the most about these meetings was his attentive listening and his ability to learn from everyone, while humbly sharing his own diplomatic experience with others.
He recently wrote his memoirs, detailing his private life and decades-long diplomatic experiences. His only child was Ayse Basak Yakis, who is an associate professor at King’s College London.
Marc Pierini, a former EU ambassador and the head of delegation to Turkiye from 2006 to 2011, wrote on the social media platform X: “A man of great culture and remarkable wisdom, always open to discussion with foreign ambassadors. I learned a lot from him.”
Ozdem Sanberk, one of Turkiye’s most experienced diplomats and a former ambassador to the UK, had his first six months of military service with Yakis in Istanbul. Talking to Arab News, Sanberk recalled that Yakis enjoyed each free moment by reading classic novels from around the world.
Sanberk said: “He was telling us that, due to his own family conditions, he couldn’t read all the Russian classics at an early age. So, he felt the need to compensate for those years by reading extensively. He also asked to serve his second stage of military service in the eastern part of Turkiye to concentrate more on reading. He even had his books placed on a horse’s back and had them transported to the place where he would serve in the military. He had a great talent for learning new languages and an insatiable thirst for learning. His intellectual deepness was great.”
Sanberk also said that Turkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had lost one of its most distinguished Middle East experts. “Yakis served as a diplomat in some of the most pivotal countries in the Middle East and the Gulf region,” he said.