First Turkish Ambassador to BiH Sukru Tufan Passes Away: He Shared the Fate of BiH Citizens and Initiated the Reconstruction of the Old Bridge

(Patria) - The first ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1993 to 1996, Sukru Tufan, passed away at the age of 82.

Tufan was once declared an Honorary Citizen of Sarajevo for his proven friendship and wholehearted assistance to the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

From 1967 to 2007, he held various diplomatic positions at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the beginning of 1993, Tufan was appointed as the first Turkish ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina and opened the first Embassy office in Sarajevo, where he remained as the dean of the diplomatic corps until September 1996.

Sharing the fate of the citizens of Sarajevo, he made efforts based on the policy of Turkey, which he represented, and which from the very beginning provided unconditional and complete support for BiH, with its multi-ethnic, multicultural, and multi-religious pluralistic character, to live as a sovereign state within its internationally recognized borders.

He played a significant role in relations with the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces, in which Turkey also actively participated, and he showed solidarity with the people of Sarajevo to preserve these specificities, not only in political but also in cultural and social life, even under the most unfavorable conditions of the siege.

In addition, he was an active member of the Special Committee formed on the initiative of the then presidents of Turkey and Croatia within the framework of a goodwill mission, with the aim of overcoming the conflict between Croats and Bosniaks.

Ambassador Tufan was among the first to launch an initiative regarding the reconstruction of the Old Bridge in Mostar.