Ambassador (R) Arslan Hakan OKÇAL

Ambassador (R) Okçal was born in 1954 in Istanbul and began his primary education in Germany. He graduated from Darüşşafaka High School and later from the Faculty of Political Sciences at Ankara University. In 1978, he joined the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He served as Vice Consul, Consul, First Secretary, Counselor, and Minister-Counselor, respectively, at the Consulates General in Bingazi (1981–83) and Münster (1983–87), the Permanent Representative to NATO (1989–92), and the Embassies in Bonn and Berlin (1997–2001). Before his assignment to NATO in Brussels, he received training at the NATO Defense College in Rome in 1989. From 1992 to 1995, he served as Consul General in Gümülcine. He was then appointed as the Head of the U.S. Department in Ankara, where he was also responsible for “Çekiç Güç” (Operation Provide Comfort) while serving in that capacity.

In 2001, upon returning to Ankara, he was appointed Deputy Director General for Research (with the title of ambassador) at the Directorate General of Intelligence and Research. Following the September 11 attacks, his work between 2001 and 2004 focused heavily on combating international terrorism and its financing. During this period, he also served as Project Coordinator for the NATO Summit in Istanbul. From 2004 to 2008, he served as Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, concurrently accredited to nine West and Central African countries, including Ghana and Cameroon, as well as to ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States). Subsequently, he was appointed Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia (2008–2010), at that time referred to by its constitutional name; during this posting, the Turkish Liaison Office in Kosovo, which had not yet declared independence, was also under his purview.

Back in Ankara, he served as Director General for the Balkans and Central Europe (2010–2013), representing Türkiye at the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the International Steering Group (ISG) for Kosovo. From 2013 to 2017, he was Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and, concurrently, accredited to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). After returning from Seoul, he retired at his own request in 2018 and settled in Istanbul.

Following his retirement, Ambassador Okçal taught diplomacy courses for five years at the Faculty of Political Sciences at Marmara University and Fenerbahçe University. He continues to deliver lectures and talks at various think tanks and universities, and he is frequently interviewed on national television. His numerous articles have appeared in print and electronic media, and he currently contributes regular columns to T24 and Ekonomi. He is fluent in English and German.