Economic Development and Employment

Deputy Secretary General

Ambassador Meltem Büyükkarakaş is the Deputy Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean in charge of Economic Development and Employment since July 2025.

She is a career diplomat of the Republic of Türkiye with more than three decades of experience in foreign policy and international relations. She graduated in 1991 from the Faculty of Political Sciences at Ankara University, Department of International Relations, and entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the same year.

She began her career as Third Secretary at the Directorate General of Protocol before taking up her first overseas assignments, serving at the Turkish Embassy in Budapest (1993–1996) and later in Seoul (1996–1998). Upon her return to Ankara, she worked at the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs, followed by a posting as Counsellor at the Turkish Embassy in Moscow (2001–2005).

Her career path led her to senior responsibilities, including Head of Department for bilateral relations with Eastern European countries (2005–2008) and First Counsellor at the Turkish Embassy in London (2008–2012). She later headed the Department for bilateral relations with European countries (2012–2014), before being appointed Minister Plenipotentiary and Deputy Director General for European bilateral relations (2014–2019).

From January 2019 to January 2023, she served as Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to Botswana, where she strengthened diplomatic and bilateral cooperation. Upon her return, she was appointed Türkiye–African Union Partnership Coordinator (2023–2024), playing a key role in deepening Türkiye’s engagement with the African continent, followed by a position as Advisor and Mentor at the Diplomacy Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, guiding and supporting new generations of diplomats.