Melih Esenbel

Melih Esenbel was born in Istanbul in 1915, attended Galatasaray, and studied law at Istanbul University. He entered the foreign ministry in 1936. His early service included Paris and a Washington posting beginning in 1945, followed by senior economic and administrative positions in Ankara. ¹

Esenbel first became ambassador in Washington in 1960. After the military coup of 27 May, he told Undersecretary of State Douglas Dillon that the new government intended to honor Türkiye’s existing commitments. ²

After an ambassadorship in Tokyo, he returned to Washington in 1967. He left to serve as foreign minister in Sadi Irmak’s government in 1974–75, then resumed the American posting. ¹

In January 1977 Esenbel urged incoming secretary of state Cyrus Vance to advance the U.S.–Turkish Defense Cooperation Agreement. He argued that further delay would weaken confidence in the alliance and insisted that defense cooperation should be considered on its own merits. In the same meeting he described Ankara’s efforts to bring the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders into negotiations. ³

Esenbel retired in 1979 and later published a book on Cyprus, Kıbrıs-1: Ayağa Kalkan Adam. He died in Istanbul in July 1995. ¹