Rabia İclal Turan
29 September 2026•Update: 29 September 2026
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Monday announced the appointment of Turkish diplomat Mehmet Gulluoglu to two senior positions.
Tom Fletcher, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, appointed Gulluoglu as the director of OCHA’s Humanitarian Sector Division and head of OCHA Geneva, according to the agency.
Gulluoglu "brings more than two decades of experience in humanitarian action, disaster management and public health,” OCHA said in a statement.
Gulluoglu, 44, previously served as the head of Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and the director general of the Turkish Red Crescent.
Most recently, he has served as Türkiye’s humanitarian aid coordinator for Palestine to ensure the effective delivery and coordination of the country’s humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
He also served as Türkiye's ambassador to Tanzania from 2021 to 2025.
A graduate of Marmara University's Faculty of Medicine, he trained in family medicine, humanitarian aid and EU projects, and has worked as a volunteer doctor with NGOs in crisis zones including Palestine, Syria, Somalia, Kenya and Jordan.
OCHA coordinates the global humanitarian response to emergencies and works to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches people affected by crises.
