Global Relations Forum

Global Relations Forum (Turkish: Global İlişkiler Forumu, GRF) is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think-tank and association founded on May 11, 2009, in Istanbul, Turkey with the committed support of 40 Turkish men and women who have assumed prominent roles in international fora and have received international recognition for their efforts throughout their careers. The founding members include former secretaries of state, university presidents, central bank governors, ECHR justice and retired ambassadors as well as leading business leaders, scholars, artists, and journalists. GRF is a platform designed to engage, inform, and stimulate its members and all interested individuals on matters related to international affairs and global issues. GRF advocates a global order of shared influence and accountability and seeks a constructive role for Turkey in that order.

GRF events have hosted individuals from diverse fields, including Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency; Jacques Nasser, former president and CEO of Ford Motor Company; Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations; and Lord Simon of Highbury, former executive director of GDF Suez Group and member of the House of Lords. Other attendees include Muhtar Kent, former chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola; Stephen Heintz, CEO of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; Michael R. Bloomberg, 108th mayor of New York City; Sandy Weill, former chairman of Citigroup; Suzan Sabancı Dinçer, chairwoman and managing director of Akbank; Erdem Başçı, former governor of the Central Bank of Turkey; Madeleine Albright, former U.S. secretary of state; and Chuck Hagel, former co-chairman of the U.S. President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.