Defne (Sadıklar) Arslan is senior director of the Atlantic Council IN TURKEY & Turkey programs center. Mrs. Arslan also serves as the Council’s regional representative with a specific focus on Turkey. Arslan launched the Council’s first branch office in the region in May 2015 and the Atlantic Council IN TURKEY program in 2018.
Mrs. Arslan started her career as a banker in Istanbul. She also worked as journalist and columnist for a financial/economic newspaper. She left for U.K. in 1990 as she received a scholarship from the British Government for her studies on finance. She was also honored with an Erasmus grant to work on her dissertation in Siena, Italy on the European banking system. Upon her return to Turkey, Mrs. Arslan has become the founding financial coordinator at the Turkish International Cooperation Agency, where she worked on funding projects in CIS Countries.
Mrs. Arslan joined the State Department through U.S. Embassy in Ankara in 1997 as the senior economist responsible for monitoring the IMF/WB programs in Turkey. She added energy sector and policy into her portfolio in 2008 and has become chief economist in Turkey. Since then, she acted among the key interlocutors on local and regional energy policies including the TANAP project, Iraqi energy, East Med and other regional issues. Arslan is known to be a key regional energy expert and financial economist with her policy work and wide network. Arslan worked on nuclear projects in Turkey and has advised international investors.
Starting her early education in Tokyo, Arslan studied MBA and MA in banking and finance. She received a BSc degree in Economics from Middle East Technical University (METU). She has been awarded with several grants and awards throughout her career and education.
Arslan speaks fluent English, and Turkish, and some Italian, and French.