New UN Resident Coordinator accredited  

Ms. Yeşim Oruç, new United Nations Resident Coordinator to Guyana, presented her letter of credence to Hugh Todd, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation last week at his  ‘Takuba Lodge’ office.  

The presentation signaled Ms. Oruc’s official start of her mandate in the country, the UN said in a release. Ms. Oruç, who is a dual national of Turkey and the United States of America (USA), is replacing Ms. Mikiko Tanaka, who served in Guyana for the past five years. 

Prior to her appointment as the highest-ranking UN Official in Guyana, Ms. Oruç served as UNDP’s Deputy Director in Washington (2016-2021), UNDP Country Director in Albania (2012-2016), and UNDP Resident Representative and Deputy Resident Representative (2008-2012) in Romania.  The new UN Resident Coordinator joined UNDP in 1996 as a national officer in Turkey. 

Ms. Oruç holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science (Comparative Governments) from Yale University, Connecticut, USA and a Masters of Art degree in Middle East Studies from the American University in Cairo, Egypt. Ms. Oruç is bilingual in English and Turkish and is proficient in Arabic and German. The mother of Akay Kaya, Ms. Oruç is joined in Guyana by her spouse Mr. Mehmet T. Kaya, also a national of Turkey.