Ahmet uzumcu biography of barack

H.E. Ambassador Fernando Arias was appointed Director-General of the OPCW in December 2017 by the Conference of the States Parties at its 22nd Session. He began his four-year term of office on 25 July 2018. He was re-appointed for a second term by the 26th Session of the Conference of States Parties (25 July 2022 – 24 July 2026). Prior to his appointment as OPCW Director-General, he served as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kingdom of Spain to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and as Permanent Representative to the OPCW from 2014-2018.

Ambassador Arias has been a career diplomat since 1979 and has extensive multilateral experience regarding weapons of mass destruction as well as bilateral experience in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, North America, and South America. In the past decade, he has represented Spain at international organisations such as the OPCW and the United Nations (UN). Additionally, he also served as the Vice-President of the OPCW’s Executive Council from 2017 to 2018. At the UN, he was Spain’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative from 2012 to 2013. While at the UN, he also served as Vice-President of the 68th Session of the General Assembly and Vice President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Previously, Ambassador Arias represented Spain as Deputy Chief of Mission in the People’s Republic of China. He was also Ambassador to Bulgaria, Ambassador to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia) while in residence in Sofia, Bulgaria, Director General of the Protocol Department of the Presidency of the Spanish Government from 2000 to 2004, Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, and Ambassador to the Republic of Mali. In addition to various posts held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain, he was also  Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassies of Spain in the Republic of Argentina, the United Mexican States, and the Republic of Romania. He began his diplomatic

H.R. McMaster:

America and other free and open societies face crucial challenges and opportunities abroad that affect security and prosperity at home. This is a series of conversations with guests who bring deep understanding of today's battlegrounds and creative ideas about how to compete, overcome challenges, capitalize on opportunities, and secure a better future. I am H.R McMaster. This is Battlegrounds.

Narrator:

On today's episode of Battlegrounds. Our focus is on the country of Turkey, a long-time U.S. ally and NATO member. Our guest is Ahmet Üzümcü, the former Director General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, OPCW from 2010 to 2018. Ambassador Üzümcü accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013 on behalf of the OPCW for the organization's extensive work toward eliminating chemical weapons.

Prior to this role, he served as Turkey's permanent representative to the United Nations, Turkey's permanent representative to NATO, Turkish Ambassador to Israel and Deputy Undersecretary of State for Bilateral Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ambassador Üzümcü holds a bachelor's degree in International Relations from Ankara University. He currently serves as a senior network member for the European Leadership Network and as a senior advisor for the Council on Strategic Risks.

Ambassador Üzümcü's Homeland Turkey is a young country for people with a long and rich history. The Turkish Republic was founded in 1923 after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, a multi-ethnic state ruled by a Turkish dynasty for over 600 years.

The Ottomans, like the Seljuks and a dozen other Turkic state builders before them, had moved westward from an original homeland on the borders of China over the course of several centuries. The Oghuz tribal confederation from which the Seljuks and Ottomans both stemmed, conquered Anatolia, displacing the Byzantine Empire, beginn

Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü is a career diplomat with vast experience in multilateral diplomacy and disarmament and non-proliferation issues. Prior to his appointment as Director-General of the OPCW in December 2009, he was Turkey’s Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva, where he chaired the Conference on Disarmament in March 2008. Ambassador Üzümcü completed his second term as Director-General of the OPCW in July 2018.

Ambassador Üzümcü has also served as Deputy Undersecretary of State for Bilateral Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkey’s Permanent Representative to NATO and Ambassador to Israel, in addition to earlier postings to NATO, Aleppo and Vienna.  He holds a Bachelors Degree in International Relations from Ankara University and speaks English and French fluently.  He is married and has a daughter.

Ambassador Üzümcü received the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the OPCW in December 2013. In December 2015, H.E. Mr Laurent Fabius, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development of France, decorated Director-General Üzümcü with the Légion d’honneur (rank of officer). In 2019, he was made honorary CMG, Order of St Michael and St George, by the British Government for his services to international diplomacy and the rule of law.

Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü accepted the prize on behalf of the OPCW. In his lecture he identified the combination of passion and practicality as the key to successful disarmament. More than moral arguments are needed; verification methods and cost-benefit analyses must be employed and the commercial advantages of treaty compliance made clear. Mr Üzümcü paid tribute to the people working in the field under difficult conditions, such as those in Syria today, and expressed his conviction that the organisation will achieve its aim.

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

The OPCW was established in the wake of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which entered into force in 1997. The Convention prohibits the production, storage, trade, transfer and use of chemical weapons. The OPCW works to ensure the implementation of the Convention’s provisions.  

In its official statement on the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2013, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said:

The conventions and the work of the OPCW have defined the use of chemical weapons as a taboo under international law. Recent events in Syria, where chemical weapons have again been put to use, have underlined the need to enhance the efforts to do away with such weapons. (…)
Disarmament figures prominently in Alfred Nobel’s will. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has through numerous prizes underlined the need to do away with nuclear weapons. By means of the present award to the OPCW, the Committee is seeking to contribute to the elimination of chemical weapons.

Audience at the Royal Palace

Prior to the awards ceremony, Ahmet Üzümcü was granted an audience at the Royal Palace. He was received by King Harald. Queen Sonja was also in attendance.  

Paid tribute to Nelson Mandela

At the same time as the Nobel Peace Prize awards ceremony was taking place, a memorial service for Nelson Mandela was being held in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mr Mandela was award