Baki İlkin

Baki İlkin was born in Ankara in 1943 and entered the foreign ministry in 1965. Before his Washington appointment, he served as ambassador to Pakistan, Denmark, and the Netherlands. He led the embassy in the United States from 1998 to 2001. ^{1, 2}

İlkin supported institutional ties with the Turkish American community. The Turkish Coalition of America credits his leadership with the purchase of the Washington Turkish House and records that the congressional caucus on U.S.–Türkiye relations was established during his tenure. ²

He subsequently became Türkiye’s permanent representative at the United Nations. Addressing the Commission on Sustainable Development in April 2005, he argued for investment in drinking water, sanitation, and hydropower, presented the Southeastern Anatolia Project as a development initiative, and advocated cooperation over transboundary rivers. ³

During his UN posting Türkiye secured a nonpermanent Security Council seat. İlkin died on 29 April 2018. ^{2, 1}