Merve Safa Kavakci, PhD
Dr. Kavakci has been appointed as the First Deputy Secretary General to the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation in January 2023.
Kavakci served as the Ambassador of Türkiye to Kuala Lumpur (2018-2022). She was the Director of Postcolonial Studies Research Center (PAMER)
at Uskudar University before becoming head of mission (2015-2016). Prior to that, 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 Türkiye as the first Muslim woman with hijab (1999). She was prevented from serving her term. Kavakci’s political party was closed down and her Turkish citizenship was revoked, banning her from politics for a period of five years. She took her case to European Court of Human Rights and won (2007).
Kavakci addressed the British Parliament House of Lords, United Nations Commission on Human Rights, US Congress Helsinki Commission and Interparliamentary Union. She has lectured at myriad of American, European and Canadian Universities including Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Cambridge, Berlin, Milan, Insburg and Ottowa universities.
Kavakci was decorated with the title of Datuk by the Governor of Sarawak (2023). She received an honorary doctorate from University of Selangor in Malaysia (2019). She is among Georgetown University’s the World’s Most Influential 500 Muslims list (2009). The headscarf she wore in the parliament, was exhibited at the U.S Congress as a symbol of religious freedom. She was recognized among “Women of Excellence” by NAACP and George Washington University (2004). She was awarded the Public Service Award in Tribute and in Recognition of efforts for the advancement of human rights and Muslim Women’s empowerment by International Association for Women and Children (2000). She was awarded Service to Humanity Award by Haus Der Kulturellen Aktivitat und Toleranz in Vienna, Austria (1999). She was granted Mother of the Year Award by Capital Platform of Ankara and National Youth Organization (1999).
Kavakci 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 (1992). Prior to that, Kavakci attended the Medical School of Ankara University however was not permitted to continue due to the headscarf ban (1986-1988).
Kavakci was a columnist for Turkish daily Yeni Akit newspaper (2004-2017). She is the author of Headscarf Politics in Turkey: A Postcolonial Reading, and five other books some of which are translated to Arabic and Persian. She is the editor author of International Relations in the Global Village: Changing Interdependencies. Her most recent book is From the Scarfless Democracy to Today (Basortusuz Demokrasi’den Gunumuze). A book on her political life The Day Turkey Stood Still was authored by American writer Richard Peres.
Kavakci is the mother of Fatima and Mariam.