Serdar Kılıç

Serdar Kılıç was born in Samsun in 1958 and graduated from Ankara University’s Faculty of Political Science. After work in tourism administration and business, he entered the foreign ministry in 1984. Early assignments in Kuwait and Los Angeles were followed by repeated service at Türkiye’s NATO mission and in the ministry’s defense policy departments. ¹

He became ambassador to Lebanon in 2008, secretary-general of the National Security Council in 2010, and ambassador to Japan in 2012. His Washington appointment followed in 2014. ¹

His Washington tenure included a serious dispute over violence during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s May 2017 visit. After presidential bodyguards and supporters attacked protesters outside the ambassador’s residence, the State Department summoned Kılıç for a meeting with undersecretary Thomas Shannon. The embassy blamed groups it linked to the PKK; American officials condemned the assault and defended peaceful protest. ²

After leaving Washington, Kılıç was appointed special representative for normalization with Armenia in December 2021. In July 2024 he met Armenian counterpart Ruben Rubinyan at the Alican–Margara border crossing. They agreed to examine requirements for reopening a railway crossing and to simplify procedures for diplomatic and official passport holders, while reaffirming the aim of full normalization without preconditions. ^{3, 4}