Proteus was an ancient Greek sea god mentioned in myths many centuries before Turkish tribes migrated to Ionia. Proteus was always expressionless, but he could constantly change form, like the surface of the sea. This ability allowed him to avoid answering questions. Today, Greece is exploring holding talks on maritime zones in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean with a distinctly “protean personality” from Turkey, its Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Fidan’s interlocutors around the world may not suspect that he knows more about them than they know about themselves. His gaze, with a slightly dewy look, is not threatening; on the contrary, it reassures. People who have studied him describe that, from the very beginning of meetings, the Turkish Proteus adopts a subtle expression of surprise, combined with an equally slight smile and a hint of awkwardness, creating an impression of genuine kindness. This gives the impression that he could give his consent on many things.
Some insist he is a sincere and reliable military man and diplomat, who engages in calm dialogue without prejudice. Others warn he can simultaneously be one of the most unpredictable players. In the context of a friendly discussion, they say, you might shake his hand in a cordial agreement, only to realize, as you withdraw it, that you are missing two or three fingers without feeling any pain. Yet, all of this could be exaggeration or malice. It may be that Fidan is not pretending anything. Perhaps all his faces are equally genuine (and therefore equally convincing). After all, this is suggested by his personal history.
Zeyneddin Karaca Bey was a 14th-century tribal chief in the wider Ankara area. He was the founder of the Dulkadir dynasty, who were Turkmen. He played a role in shaping the Ottoman Empire, and his name is remembered to this day. The Karacabey Bath (Hammam), built six centuries ago, stands in the Hamamonu neighborhood of Ankara, a charming area with restaurants and art venues, akin to Athens’ Plaka and Monastiraki districts. The very name of the neighborhood means the area built around the bathhouse. In this cobblestone neighborhood, filled with houses and buildings in the late Ottoman architectural style, Fidan was born in 1968 – a man now influential in shaping modern Turkey. Will his name be remembered in the future, as the Bey of his neighborhood is remembered today?
Fidan is married to chartered accountant Nuran Fidan, who hails from Sivas. They have three children and live in Ankara. His father, a Kurd from Varto, a small town 742 kilometers east of Ankara, was a civil servant. His mother is from Denizli, a city near the coast of Asia Minor with a population similar to Thessaloniki’s. We wouldn’t be wrong to assume that he embodies various cultural and ethnic facets of his country, equipping him with the advantage of viewing issues from different – and often opposing – perspectives.
This means he can understand both Kurds and Turks, Easterners and Europeans, Kemalists and Islamists equally well. He himself is not an Islamist, though this doesn’t mean he doesn’t pray daily. He has Western habits and wears classic blue suits and ties from the quality Turkish brand Vakko, though that doesn’t stop him from smoking the traditional water pipe, or nargile. These qualities are useful when you need to gather secrets and move sometimes in the light, sometimes in the shadows.
From a young age, he had a romantic sense of duty toward the state, a notion that inspires respect in Turkey, in contrast to the disdain it often evokes in Greece. He also had a special relationship with history and an adolescent, idealistic urge to become part of it, which ultimately led him to join the Turkish Armed Forces at the end of his teenage years. He trained at the Turkish Military Academy and the Landed Forces Language School, became an officer, and served for several years in NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in Germany, where he retired in 2001. Ambitious, hardworking and studious, he took advantage of NATO’s opportunities and studied management and political science at the University of Maryland in the United States. There, he gained a better understanding of the Americans. And they, in turn, came to know him.
He returned to Turkey in 2001 and continued his graduate studies, earning a master’s and a doctorate at Bilkent University in Ankara. The title of his master’s thesis, “Intelligence and Foreign Policy,” became the theme of his life ever after. He wanted to understand how intelligence gathering by secret services could quietly, invisibly, yet decisively influence processes, developments and decisions in foreign policy.
Highly valued discretion
Soon he was given the opportunity to put into practice some of the theories he had learned when he was appointed head of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), which dealt with “international development” and “humanitarian work,” and was involved in numerous countries. At that time, he was part of a group of young people in their mid-30s who were disillusioned with the stagnant Kemalist leadership (the country had been drawn into the IMF) and rallied behind the Islamist leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan, then a passionate Europhile, won the 2003 elections and, shortly afterward – following his release from prison, where he served four months of a 10-month sentence for charges of inciting religious insurrection – became prime minister. Fidan joined the prime minister’s office in 2007 as a deputy secretary of state and adviser on foreign policy and security issues.
He quickly developed a personal relationship with Erdogan. The Turkish strongman (who served as prime minister until 2014) appreciated Fidan’s analytical ability, discretion, diligence, capacity to create trusted informants, and, perhaps most importantly, his modesty and humility. Thus, in 2010, at the age of 42, Fidan became the youngest head of MIT, Turkey’s intelligence service.
It quickly became apparent that he employed a carrot-and-stick approach. For example, he intensified the anti-terrorism campaign against the Kurds while simultaneously initiating secret peace talks with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Abdullah Ocalan, the Kurdish militant leader jailed on Imrali island. When these talks were leaked in 2012 and he was summoned by the Prosecutor’s Office for an explanation, the “sultan” intervened to defend him, saying that Fidan was carrying out his orders. “He is the state’s secret-keeper,” Erdogan said.
His opponents allege that in 2016, he failed to warn Erdogan about the attempted coup and, during the tense hours of the eventually quashed operation, waited to see which way the scales would tip. Supporters, however, insist that he had already alerted then-head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Hulusi Akar, about suspicious movements within the military. Rumors suggest that Erdogan may have been warned by the Russians rather than his own people, but the fact that Fidan faced no repercussions could indicate that, during those critical hours, he did more for his boss than has been publicly disclosed. Indeed, his relations with the Russians are reportedly excellent, demonstrated through covert diplomacy in both Syria and Ukraine. Immediately after the coup, he rolled up his sleeves and contributed to the purge of Gulenist networks, an operation that resulted in harsh prison sentences for thousands, both guilty and innocent.
At helm of diplomacy
In 2023, Fidan was promoted to foreign minister, and insiders say that he immediately set to work transforming the diplomatic service into a unified apparatus of intelligence and diplomacy. Some prominent Turkish figures murmur that the foreign minister is sidelining experienced diplomats. On September 13, 2023, by Erdogan’s decree, an armed unit was created within Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, focused on the security of approximately 260 Turkish embassies, consulates, and diplomatic missions worldwide. Skeptics suggest that, in practice, this move gave the intelligence service enhanced diplomatic cover, facilitating safer organization of covert operations in countries where Turkey has sensitive interests.
Soon after Fidan took over as foreign minister, despite his many concerns with various outstanding issues in numerous countries, he began back-and-forth engagements with Greece. Some argue that the Turks are not eager to resolve Greek-Turkish issues but only feign urgency when they want to send a message to the West (as they did from 2020-2022). Nonetheless, discussions have been under way since last September to organize the next round of talks. The importance of diplomatic meals might be even greater; Erdogan attributes great value to the quality of such gatherings as a tangible sign of respect. He acknowledged this himself in an interview with Kathimerini, praising the Greek-Turkish meal on the sidelines of the Athens Declaration. Naturally, Fidan, who has met several times with Greek counterpart George Gerapetritis – in Ankara, London, New York, and recently in Athens – emphasizes that alongside the delicacies that unite us, all the differences that divide us “remain on the table.”
Those tracking Fidan see parallels with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Just as Putin had a long tenure in intelligence and was trusted by President Boris Yeltsin, leading to his selection as successor, Fidan could very well be Erdogan’s chosen one, the person to ensure a secure and smooth succession in Ankara.
Nothing is certain, yet even his name seems to subconsciously imprint the idea of a heroic future. Hakan in Turkish means “lord” and comes from the ancient Turkish and Mongolian word Khan (Emperor). Fidan, in Turkish, means a young, vigorous and strong sapling – what we know as a “shoot.” Thus, if all goes well for him, this Khan, Hakan, the promising “sapling” of Turkish politics, could command our attention for many years to come.
