Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Directorate General of Protocol

PROTOCOL PROCEDURES
FOR
THE COMMENCEMENT AND TERMINATION OF
A DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO TURKEY

2012/2013
Contents

1. PROTOCOL PROCEDURES FOR THE AMBASSADOR DESIGNATE ................................... 3

1.1 Arrival of the Ambassador Designate ..................................................................................... 3
1.4 Wreath – Laying Ceremony at Atatürk’s Mausoleum............................................................. 5
1.5 Official Visits .......................................................................................................................... 6
2. PROTOCOL PROCEDURES FOR THE ARRIVAL OF CHARGÉ D’AFFAIRES ..................... 6
3. PROTOCOL PROCEDURES FOR THE FINAL DEPARTURE OF THE AMBASSADOR ....... 6

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1. PROTOCOL PROCEDURES FOR THE AMBASSADOR DESIGNATE

1.1 Arrival of the Ambassador Designate

The Ambassador Designate will be greeted at the airport by a member of the Protocol
Department (hereafter referred to as the Protocol Officer) if the Protocol Department
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is officially informed of the date of arrival. Upon
completion of arrival formalities the Protocol Officer will accompany the Ambassador
to his/her car.

If the Ambassador Designate is resident in another capital and has no Embassy

residence in Ankara; he/she will be accompanied by the Protocol Officer to his/her
hotel. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide the transportation required.

The Protocol Department would be grateful if the Ambassador Designate arrives

during the working hours as this would greatly facilitate the welcoming procedure.

If the Ambassador Designate arrives in Ankara by car, he/she will not be met upon
arrival. The request for appointments from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be
addressed by the Ambassador to the Protocol Officer on this occasion.

1.2 Visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Ambassador Designate will, upon appointments, visit the Director General of
Protocol (Chief of Protocol) and the Undersecretary or the Deputy Undersecretary of
Foreign Affairs. The Ambassador Designate will present copies of his/her Letters of
Credence and the Letters of Recall of his/her predecessor to the Chief of Protocol.

The Chief of Protocol will inform the Ambassador Designate about the ceremony of
the Presentation of the Letters of Credence.

1.3 Presentation of the Letters of Credence

On the day assigned for the presentation of credentials, to escort the Ambassador to
the Presidential Palace, the Protocol Officer will arrive at the residence of the
Ambassador at a time previously communicated.

While the Ambassador, accompanied by the Protocol Officer takes his/her seat in the
car provided for the ceremony, his/her staff will take their places in the other cars
which will take them to the Presidential Palace. The motorcade formed thus will be
escorted by a police car. Upon request, cars of the Embassy can be included in the
motorcade.

A total number of four career diplomats and/or military attachés of the Embassy can
attend the ceremony.

The spouse of the Ambassador may also attend the ceremony. If attended, he/she will
follow the Ambassador in a separate car provided by the Protocol Department.

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 Upon arrival at the Presidential Palace, the Ambassador will be met by an A.D.C. of
the President (Fig . 1). After shaking hands with the A.D.C. who will .be introduced
by the Protocol Officer (Position No.1), the Ambassador proceeds towards the point
which has been marked on the main staircase (Position No. 2), together with the
A.D.C. on his/her right and the Protocol Officer on his/her left. They stop at this point
and the National Anthems of the country represented by the Ambassador and of
Turkey are played by the 'Band of the Presidential Guard Regiment. The Ambassador
then proceeds to the Band which is on the right side of the Guard of Honour and from
thereon advances slowly to inspect the Guard of Honour (Position No.3). During the
inspection, while the Guard of Honour is on the left and the A.D.C. on the right, the
Protocol Officer follows the Ambassador one step behind on his/her left. At the
termination of the inspection, the Ambassador turns back to enter the building and
before climbing up the stairs, stops at the marked point and turns to salute the Guard
of Honour in the following words in Turkish: "Merhaba Asker"'(Salute Soldier) to
which the Guards will reciprocate: "Sağol" (Thanks) (Position No.4). The staff of the
Embassy observes the ceremony from the spot reserved for them.

Following the salutation, the Chief of Protocol greets the Ambassador Designate and
escorts him/her to the waiting room. The Ambassador and his/her staff will take their
places in the waiting room adjacent to the Reception Hall (Fig. 2).

Then the Chief of Protocol enters the Reception Hall and announces to the President
the arrival of the Ambassador.

In the Reception Hall, one step behind the President, the Minister/Undersecretary or
the Deputy Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs takes his/her place on the right, the
Chief of Cabinet of the President on the left and the Chief A.D.C. at the center. An
Adviser, the Commander of the Presidential Guard Regiment and an A.D.C. take their
places on the right side of the Hall and the Chief of Protocol at the entrance.

Following the announcement of his/her name and title by the Chief of Protocol, the
Ambassador enters the Hall and the staff members of the Embassy follow the
Ambassador in order of seniority, stop behind the Ambassador by the carpet. The
spouse of the Ambassador proceeds the staff members. The Ambassador proceeds
towards the President and stops at a distance indicated by a metal plate. The
Ambassador presents to the President his/her Letters of Credence and the Letters of
Recall of his/her predecessor (if not yet presented). No speeches will be exchanged
during the audience.

Having handed over the Letters, the Ambassador asks permission to introduce his/her
spouse and the members of his/her staff and turns sideways facing the Press.
Introduction takes place in the order of seniority, beginning with the spouse.

The president, accompanied by the Minister/Undersecretary or the Deputy

Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ambassador, will then
proceed to take their seats on the armchairs previously arranged in the Reception Hall,
the President being in the middle, the Ambassador on his right and the
Minister/Undersecretary or the Deputy Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs on his left.
The spouse of the Ambassador will be seated on the right of the Ambassador. The

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Chief of Protocol, the staff of the President and the staff of the Ambassador will stand
at indicated places behind the armchairs and a group photograph will be taken.

The President, accompanied by the Minister/Undersecretary or the Deputy

Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs will invite the Ambassador to his Office for a brief
conversation, while the staff as well as the spouse of the Ambassador will be led to the
waiting room.

Upon the termination of the audience, the Ambassador will ask the President’s
permission to leave and proceeds to the waiting room where he/she will be
congratulated by the Chief of Protocol, his/her staff and other officers and a toast will
be offered by the Chief of Protocol.

The Ambassador bids farewell to the Chief of Protocol and accompanied by the
Protocol Officer and his/her staff, proceeds to the main entrance.

The motorcade, escorted by the police car leaves the Presidential Palace for the
residence of the Ambassador.

Upon completion of the ceremony, as the motorcade returns, if attended, the spouse of
the Ambassador will take a seat in the same car with the Ambassador.

The dress for the ceremony is dark suit or national dress.

In inclement weather, the ceremony is held at the Reception Hall entrance as indicated
in Fig. 3.

1.4 Wreath – Laying Ceremony at Atatürk’s Mausoleum

The same afternoon, or if not possible, the next day, the Ambassador lays a wreath at
Atatürk's Mausoleum at a time organized by the Protocol Department. Following the
wreath-Laying and the observance of one minute's silence, the Ambassador signs the
Book of Honour and visits the Atatürk Museum. The members of the Embassy may
accompany the Ambassador. The spouse of the Ambassador may also attend the
ceremony.

Following the ceremony, visit to the Independence War Museum will take place. The
Ambassador may request the long or short tour of the Museum.

The wreath should be sent by the Embassy and be ready at the Mausoleum at least one
hour before the ceremony commences, bearing a ribbon with the name of his/her
country and the title of the Ambassador, in Turkish. (“……… Büyükelçisi”). The
wreath should measure 80 cm in diameter from periphery and be without a pedestal.

The dress is dark suit or national dress. Details of the ceremony can be found in (Fig.
4).

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 1.5 Official Visits

Upon the request of the Ambassador, the Protocol Department will arrange
appointments for him/her to call on the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of
Turkey. Courtesy calls to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Ministers are usually
arranged in combination with needs and requests for official calls.

2. PROTOCOL PROCEDURES FOR THE ARRIVAL OF CHARGÉ D’AFFAIRES

The Chargé d’Affaires will be met at the airport by a Protocol Officer and upon the
completion of arrival formalities he/she will be accompanied to his/her car.

Upon his/her request, the Chargé d’Affaires will call on the Chief of Protocol to hand
a certified copy of his Letters of Cabinet and ask for an appointment to be received by
the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He/she will then visit the Minister/Undersecretary or
the Deputy Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs at the time fixed and present the Letters
of Cabinet. After that, the Chargé d’Affaires will also pay any other visits advised by
the Protocol Department.

3. PROTOCOL PROCEDURES FOR THE FINAL DEPARTURE OF THE

AMBASSADOR

When the Ambassador is leaving definitely, he/she may ask for a farewell audience
with the President of the Republic through the Protocol Department. If the
Ambassador is in possession of his Letters of Recall, he/she will present them to the
President personally during this final audience. Otherwise, his/her Letters of Recall are
presented by his/her successor together with his/her own Letters of Credence.

The dress for this audience is dark suit.

The Ambassador may also pay farewell visits to the Speaker of the Turkish Grand
National Assembly, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs by
appointments arranged by the Protocol Department, upon request.

If the time of departure is officially communicated to the Protocol Department, a

Protocol Officer will be present at the airport, to see the Ambassador off.

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Figure 1: Presidential Palace

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I. Ambassador and accompanying delegation waits.
II. Ambassador enters upon announcement by the Chief of Protocol and
proceeds towards the president (---->) and presents the Letters of
Accreditation and Recall. (No speech –The Ambassador says, “I have the
honour to present the letter accrediting me as Ambassador Plenipotentiary
of (Country) to the Republic of Turkey and the letter of recall of my
predecessor.”
III. Ambassador’s accompanying delegation enters and lines up in the order of
seniority (Spouse leading the group).
IV. Following the presentation of the Letters of Accreditation and Recall,
Ambassador requests permission from the President to introduce the
accompanying delegation and turning sideways facing the Press, he/she
introduces the delegation. The spouse (if accompanying) shakes hands with
the President and proceeds towards V. and stands by Chair No 1. The rest
of the delegation shakes hands with the President upon announcement of
their names and proceeds towards V. and waits behind the group of chairs.
V. Official Photo Session
VI. The President invites the Ambassador to his Office for a meeting. The
President, the Ambassador, the Representative of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs proceed towards VI. exit from the hall and take the staircase
leading to the President’s Office. The accompanying delegation follows.
VII. Following the meeting with the President, Ambassador joins the
accompanying delegation. A toast is offered by the Chief of Protocol.

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