Former intelligence chief Hakan Fidan has been one of the president’s trusted men throughout Erdoğan’s 20-year reign.
Turkey re-elected president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed the country’s new foreign minister last week Hakan Fidanin, who is the former head of MIT, the Turkish intelligence agency. In Pest, Fida replaced the one who had served as foreign minister since 2014 Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
54-year-old Fidan is one of President Erdoğan’s close confidants and a trusted man who has been working behind the scenes since 2003. At the time, Erdoğan, who was ruling his country with an authoritarian grip, began his reign as prime minister, which has now lasted for 20 years.
Fidan is considered a significant background influencer in Turkey’s foreign and security policy. As an intelligence manager, Fidan has traveled extensively in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Russia.
The appointment is a recognition of the work Fidan has done in his career and a sign that Erdoğan wants an experienced actor to lead Turkey’s foreign policy, the US publication estimates Forbes.
Fida headed the Turkish intelligence service for 13 years starting in 2010. When he became its head at the age of 42, he made history as MIT’s youngest director.
According to Forbes, during Fidan’s tenure, MIT has more than quadrupled its size and increased its intelligence and analysis capabilities as well as its operational capabilities.
A Turkish daily newspaper written in English of The Daily Sabah according to Fidan’s leadership, MIT has also become a “real actor in foreign policy”. According to the newspaper, MIT has “begun to protect Turkey’s national security against external threats” and “carried out effective operations, including military ones, against anti-Turkish organizations in various states.”
For example, in Germany, the intelligence service headed by Fidan has been suspected of spying on his political opponents, such as the exiled religious leader by Fethullah Gülen alleged supporters. He has told about it, for example Over.
As Foreign Minister, Fida will operate with the same themes he operated with as intelligence chief behind the scenes, The Daily Sabah believes – in the future only in a public role.
Forbes speculates that the foreign minister appointment will narrow the gap between decision-making and intelligence gathering.
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (front left) handed over the foreign minister’s portfolio to Hakan Fidan in Ankara on Monday.
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