Fahrettin Altun’s new look in the Vatican becomes a hot topic
Former Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, now serving as Ambassador to the Vatican, delivered messages on identity politics and diplomacy at an event in Rome.
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Prof. Dr. Fahrettin Altun, who served as the Presidential Communications Director between 2018 and 2025, has returned to the spotlight with his new role as Ambassador to the Vatican. Altun’s appearance at an event in Rome and the diplomatic messages he delivered in his speech drew attention on social media.
Altun was removed from his position as Presidential Communications Director by a decision published in the Official Gazette on July 10, 2025, and was appointed as the President of the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye. In March of this year, he was appointed as the Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to the Vatican through appointment decrees signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Serving in the Vatican, known as the world's smallest country with a population ranging from 500 to 800 people, Altun was seen to have grown his hair out and changed his appearance. Altun, who frequently made headlines during his previous tenure due to censorship debates regarding the opposition and harsh political statements, stood out this time with a softer diplomatic tone.
DIPLOMATIC MESSAGE IN ROME
In his speech at an event for the Carità Politica lay community movement in Rome, Altun stated that diplomacy requires recognizing the existence of the "other." Expressing his opposition to radical identity politics, Altun stated that there is a need for a third way between a homogenizing global culture and exclusionary identity politics.
In his speech, Altun said, "On one hand, we have a very powerful, homogenizing global culture. On the other hand, we have different forms of radical identity politics. But we need a third way: To be a community without being uniform. Differences without hostility... Identities without exclusion..."
Citing Pope Pius X, Altun argued that technology, markets, and power cannot answer humanity's fundamental questions on their own. Altun said, "I believe that religion and diplomacy can offer these to the world today. Our humanity becomes meaningful through our responsibility toward others. And peace begins exactly at that point."