There has been a change of guard in posts at the Office of the President with new appointments being made.

The official announcements were made on Thursday by President Ersin Tatar’s office.

Güneş Onar has been appointed as the new Special Representative to President Ersin Tatar replacing his predecessor Ergün Olgun.

Güneş Onar, a diplomat in the foreign ministry was appointed to the Turkish Cypriot negotiating team in 2010, taking part in talks in Geneva, Greentree and other leaders’ summits as well as cross visits to Athens.

In 2013, Onar became the Presidential Advisor and Director of Political Affairs.

In 2018, he was appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister and Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

His tenure as Undersecretary ended on January 11, 2021. Starting from January 18, 2021, Güneş Onar served as the Coordinator of Confidence-Building Measures and Bilateral Technical Committees at the Presidency.

Seniha Birand Çınar meanwhile has been appointed as Onar’s replacement for the post of Coordinator for Confidence-Building Measures and Bilateral Technical Committees

Also as a career diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1999, Çınar has served in various capacities, including junior diplomat in Paris, First Counselor in Ankara, Representative in Strasbourg, and Consul General in Istanbul during her foreign assignments.

She has also served as Director/Representative at the Directorate of Political Affairs, Directorate of European Union Relations, and Directorate of Relations with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation within the TRNC foreign ministry.

Seniha Birand Çınar has been actively involved in the Cyprus issue. Since 1999, she has been part of negotiation processes, including the Bürgenstock process and the Annan Plan negotiations.