İnal Batu (24 September 1936 – 5 August 2013) was a Turkish diplomat, politician and member of the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by ...

Biography

He was born on 24 September 1936 in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

as the son of Selahattin Batu (1905–1973), a zoologist and politician. He studied Diplomacy and Foreign Relations at the

Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University The Faculty of Political Science of the University of Ankara (, more simply known as "''SBF''") is the oldest institution of administrative sciences in Turkey. It is the successor of the "Mekteb-i Mülkiye" ('), also known simply as "Mülkiye," wh ...

, graduating in 1960. İnal Batu served at various Turkish diplomatic missions including

Lefkoşa Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capita ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

and as Ambassador to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He was also the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations from 1993 to 1995. It was emphasized that Batu played an important role in the resolution of the Imia/Kardak crisis, which broke out in late 1995 between

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and Turkey, with his constructive ideas and proposals. Following the 2002 general election, he entered the parliament as a deputy of

Hatay Province Hatay Province (, ) is the southernmost province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is , and its population is 1,686,043 (2022). It is situated mostly outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province ...

from the

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...

, serving until 2007. He was member of the board of Fenerbahçe SK and served also as its vice president. Batu died from heart failure at the age of 76 on 5 August 2013 at a hospital in Istanbul, where he had been treated for two months. Following the religious funeral service at the

Teşvikiye Mosque The Teşvikiye Mosque () is a neo-baroque structure located in the Teşvikiye neighbourhood of Şişli district in Istanbul, Turkey. History The mosque was originally commissioned in 1794 by Sultan Selim III, but most of the current mosque t ...

, he was laid to rest at the

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery () is a modern burial ground in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of politics, business, sports and arts rest here. The ce ...

. He was survived by his wife Nevra, daughter

Pelin Batu Pelin Batu (born 27 December 1978) is a Turkish author, actress, historian, and television personality. Biography Pelin Batu is born on the 27th of December 1978 to İnal Batu and an Albanian mother. Due to her father İnal Batu's career as ...

, a film and television actress and son Arda Batu, an academic.

References

20th-century Turkish diplomats 1936 births 2013 deaths Ambassadors of Turkey to Italy Ambassadors of Turkey to Northern Cyprus Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences alumni Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Deputies of Hatay Fenerbahçe S.K. board members Members of the 22nd Parliament of Turkey Permanent representatives of Turkey to the United Nations Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Turkish people of Circassian descent {{Turkey-politician-stub