
Assoc.Prof. Merve Kavakcı
Ambassador, Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Türkiye
Dr. Kavakcı served as Ambassador of Türkiye to Kuala Lumpur (2018-2022). Dr. Kavakcı was the Founding Director of The Postcolonial Studies Research Center (PAMER) at Üsküdar University (2014-2017). She was a Lecturer of International Relations at George Washington University and Howard University in Washington DC (2004-2014). She was elected to the Turkish Parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in 1999 as the first Muslim woman with hijab. However she was prevented from serving her term. Kavakcı holds a Ph.D in political science from Howard University (2007), an MPA from Harvard University (2003) and a BS in Software Engineering from University of Texas at Dallas (1993). Kavakcı attended the Medical School of Ankara University however was not permitted to continue due to the headscarf ban (1988). Kavakcı is among Georgetown University’s The World’s Most Influential 500 Muslims (2009). She is the author of several academic books.