Burhanettin Duran
Prof. Dr. Burhanettin Duran was born on January 1, 1970, in Adapazarı, Sakarya, Turkey. His academic journey began in 1993 when he earned his bachelor's degree in Political Science and International Relations from Boğaziçi University. He completed his Ph.D. in Political Science and Public Administration at Bilkent University in 2001 and became an associate professor in political life and institutions in 2006. Since 2013, he has held the title of professor in the field of international relations, continuing his scholarly work.
Duran's academic appointments trace back to 1993 when he started as a research assistant at Sakarya University. From 2001 to 2009, he served as a faculty member and head of the International Relations Department at Sakarya University. Subsequently, he became the Head of the Political Science and International Relations Department at Istanbul Şehir University and was a visiting faculty member at George Mason University from 2010 to 2011. In the following years, he taught International Relations and Political Science at Ankara Social Sciences University and Ibn Haldun University.
In addition to his academic career, Duran has undertaken significant institutional roles. From 2013 to 2024, he served as the General Coordinator of SETA. Since October 2018, he has been a Member of the Presidential Security and Foreign Policy Council. Most recently, on May 20, 2024, he was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey. Duran's academic contributions include numerous articles and books in both Turkish and English, covering topics such as Turkish foreign policy, political life, transformation in the Middle East, and Islamism.
Prof. Dr. Muhsin Kar
Bank Council Member
Born in 1968 in Kahramanmaraş, he received his B.A. degree in Economics from Ankara University, Faculty of Political Sciences, his M.A. degree in Economic Development from the University of Leicester in the UK in 1995 and his PhD degree in Economics from Loughborough University in 2000. He was a Visiting Researcher at the University of Southern California, USA. He carried out his academic studies at Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, Çukurova University, Necmettin Erbakan University and Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Economics Departments. He held many different administrative positions at the universities he worked at. He received the title of Associate Professor in 2005 and Professor in 2011 in the field of Macroeconomics.
He has conducted academic studies in the fields of economic development, growth, foreign direct investment, European integration, transition economies, and financial sector-real sector interaction. He has published articles in various national/international journals, authored chapters in books and edited books. He conducted projects supported by the State Planning Organization and TUBITAK.
He served as the Rector of Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University between September 2017 and October 2021, and as the President of the Higher Education Quality Board between February 2022 and March 2023.
Kar, who was an Associate Member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences between 2012-2020, was elected as a Full Member in 2020.
Muhsin Kar has been a member of the Board of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey since March 28, 2023.
Msgr. Prof. Dr. Obiora Ike
Reverend Monsignor Professor Dr. Obiora Ike holds a B.A, B.Phil., M.A., M.Phil., and Doctorate and certificates in Philosophy, Political Science, Economics, Journalism, and Ethics in Theology. He specialises in Ethics, Dialogue of Religions, International Studies, Economics, and culturally rooted Development. As Founder and Director of the Catholic Institute for Development, Justice, Peace and Caritas (CIDJAP), he has served the State, the Church, and Society as a leading and fearless voice for global balance, justice issues, fair globalisation, and human rights activism. Widely traveled across all continents, he has taught in Tilburg, the Netherlands, and Cologne and Frankfurt in Germany, and delivered public lectures in the United States of America, South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria, where he is currently a Professor of Ethics and Intercultural Studies at Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu State. An acclaimed scholar, teacher, public speaker, publisher, and author of over 100 book publications and Journals, Dr. Ike is a grassroots development practitioner, mobilizer, administrator, thinker, Christian religious and thought Leader.
He founded (co-founded)17 NGOs over 30 years in Europe and Africa, addressing issues of development, education, and financial inclusion, including the leading Nigerian Umuchinemere MicroFinance Bank in Enugu.
Professor Dr Obiora Ike served as Executive Director in the leading Ethics Foundation - GLOBETHICS Geneva, Switzerland, from 2016 to 2023, and served as the Chairman of the Enugu State Government Economic Advisory Committee from 2015 to 2023.
He is a member of the European Academy of Science and Arts (EASA); the World Academy of Arts and Sciences( WAAS); an International member and President of the Club of Rome, Nigeria Chapter; ProChancellor of the State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS), and served on the International Advisory Board of the University of Stellenbosch, Executive Business in Belleville, near Cape Town, South Africa.