Rauf Alp Denktaş joined the Turkish Foreign Service in 2001, beginning his career at the Department of NATO and Western European Union Affairs. He served at the Turkish Embassies in Bucharest (2003-2005, Third Secretary) and Tel Aviv (2005-2008, Second Secretary).
Returning to Ankara in 2008, he worked at the Middle East Desk as First Secretary, handling Türkiye-Israel and Türkiye-Palestine relations and Türkiye’s contributions to the Middle East Peace Process. In 2010, he was posted to Washington, D.C. as Counsellor and Embassy Spokesman, and in 2011 became Chief Congressional Liaison to the U.S. Congress.
Back at the Ministry in 2013, he headed the Department for NATO and Euro-Atlantic Security. In 2015, he joined Türkiye’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York as First Counsellor, representing Türkiye in the First Committee and following Security Council affairs, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Cyprus. He served as Vice Chair of the UN Disarmament Commission in 2017 and was promoted to Deputy Permanent Representative in 2018.
From October 2019 to September 2023, he served as Minister Plenipotentiary and Deputy Director General for Multilateral Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In October 2023, he was appointed Ambassador of Türkiye to Poland.
Ambassador Denktaş holds a BA in Economics from Bilkent University and an MA in International Relations from SOAS, University of London. He is married and has a son and a daughter.