Signatories

Minister Hikmet Çetin’s political career began after he was elected to the Turkish parliament in 1977 as a member of the Republican People’s Party (CHP). He was appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister in 1978. In 1997, he was re-elected to the Parliament from the Social Democratic People’s Party (SHP). Minister Çetin worked at various executive levels within SHP, including the post of the Secretary General. In 1991, he was re-elected to the Parliament and then served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the two coalition Governments between 1991 and 1994. He was once again appointed as the Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister in 1995. In the 1995 general elections, Minister Çetin retook his seat in the Parliament and was elected as the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) in October 1997. In 2003 he was appointed NATO Senior Civilian Representative for Afghanistan, where he served until 2006.