Turkish Attorney Emir Abbas Gürbüz Runs for President of the Brussels-Based Atlantic Treaty Association

Turkish Attorney Emir Abbas Gürbüz Runs for President of the Brussels-Based Atlantic Treaty Association

Gürbüz, Secretary General of ATA Türkiye, says he wants to give every member association a stronger voice and to prepare the organisation for a changing security environment. The election will take place in Berlin on 21 November 2026.

ISTANBUL, 10 October 2026. Emir Abbas Gürbüz, a Turkish attorney who serves as Secretary General of ATA Türkiye, has announced his candidacy for the presidency of the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA). Founded in 1954, the ATA brings together national Atlantic associations and non-governmental organisations that support the values of the North Atlantic Treaty. The new President will be elected at the ATA General Assembly in Berlin on 21 November 2026.

Gürbüz said his priorities would be to strengthen transatlantic cooperation, give member associations more effective representation within the organisation and increase the ATA’s impact on the international stage.

“My primary goal is to build a structure within the Atlantic Treaty Association in which every member country can express itself more strongly, sees its views reflected, and can contribute more to our joint work,” Gürbüz said. “I want to increase our organisation’s international effectiveness by bringing its long-standing experience together with new ideas.”

“NATO 3.0 needs ATA 2.0”

Gürbüz noted that the ATA has made significant contributions to transatlantic relations since its founding, but said the organisation must take on a more effective role as international conditions change.

“Today the international system is undergoing a significant transformation in both its political and security dimensions,” he said. “At such a time, I believe that the future of the Atlantic community depends on preserving trust among allies, deepening cooperation and strengthening the will to act together.”

“The NATO 3.0 that emerged from the Ankara Summit, a stronger Europe within a stronger Alliance, needs an ATA 2.0 alongside it,” Gürbüz said. “That means a network of Atlantic associations that is better connected, better organised and able to explain this transformation to the public in every member country.”

His programme highlights stronger communication among member associations, greater participation of young people in transatlantic cooperation and more joint work on emerging security issues. Gürbüz has also authored a white paper, “Roadmap for a Better Atlantic Treaty Association”, setting out proposals for renewing the organisation, which he submitted to the ATA in September 2026.

If elected, he said, he would work to foster an environment of cooperation based on mutual trust among all members.

Bringing Türkiye’s experience to the Atlantic community

Gürbüz said he would also bring the perspective of a long-standing ally to the role. “As one of NATO’s longest-standing allies, Türkiye, with its historical experience, military capacity and strategic position, is one of the indispensable pillars of the Alliance,” he said. “I believe this experience can make a valuable contribution to the work of the Atlantic Treaty Association as a whole.”

“For me, this candidacy is not merely a matter of taking on a role in an international organisation,” Gürbüz said. “It is also an expression of my determination to contribute to the Atlantic community to which I have devoted years of work, and to serve my country on the international stage.”

Years of work in the Atlantic network

Gürbüz previously served as President of YATA Türkiye and Secretary General of YATA International, the youth branch of the ATA, before being elected to the ATA Board. Within ATA Türkiye he has led initiatives including the NATO 2026 Ankara Summit dialogue programme.

His published work includes a book on peacetime psychological warfare and the principle of non-intervention in international law, based on his master’s thesis and published by Legal Yayıncılık; an article on the enforcement gap in investment arbitration inThe National Law Review; and a piece on CENTO, the Cold War era Central Treaty Organization, published by NEU Press.

About Emir Abbas Gürbüz

Born in Kadıköy, Istanbul, in 1993, Gürbüz graduated from the Faculty of Law at Bahçeşehir University and completed his master’s degree at the National Defence University. After working as a research assistant at the Institute of International Relations Prague, he began practising as an independent attorney. He continues his academic work at the Hariciye Center for Foreign Policy and Security Studies.

About the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA)

The Atlantic Treaty Association is an independent organisation, founded in The Hague on 18 June 1954 and based in Brussels, that supports the values enshrined in the North Atlantic Treaty: democracy, individual liberty, the rule of law, peace and security. It acts as an umbrellafor national associations and non-governmental organisations from NATO member and partner countries that work to build public understanding of transatlantic security. Its youth branch, the Youth Atlantic Treaty Association (YATA), was founded in 1996, and together the ATA and YATA network spans nearly 40 countries. The ATA is not part of NATO, but it works with NATO, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the European Union.

About ATA Türkiye

ATA Türkiye is the Turkish member association of the Atlantic Treaty Association. It promotes public dialogue on transatlantic security and co-organised the NATO Ankara Summit Dialogues programme with the Hariciye Center for Foreign Policy and Security Studies.