Chief Negotiator for Turkish Accession to the European Union 24 May 2016. With formal accession talks between Turkey and the European Union beginning in the years 2004 and 2005, the role of Chief Negotiator was established to represent the Turkish delegation during the membership negotiations. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed Ali Babacan as the first Chief Negotiator on 17 January 2005, while the then-Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül became the president of the Turkish delegation. When the Ministry of European Union Affairs was established on 29 June 2011 before Erdoğan formed his third and final government, the Minister responsible for the new department began serving concurrently as the Chief
Turgut Özakman Turgut Özakman Turgut Özakman (1 September 1930 – 28 September 2013) was a Turkish lawyer, a civil servant, a dramaturge and a writer. He was born in Ankara in 1930. In 1952 he graduated from the law school of Ankara University and served as a lawyer. After studying drama in the University of Cologne, he was appointed as a dramaturge in state theatre of Ankara (). Later he also served in the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) as a manager. Between 1983 and 1987 he was the general director in State Theatres. Between 1984 and 1994 he was the