Curriculum Vitae – Retired Rear Admiral Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cihat Yaycı

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cihat Yaycı, the architect of the Blue Homeland Doctrine, designer of the Blue Homeland Map, and principal figure behind the Turkey-Libya Maritime Boundary Agreement, is also credited with drawing public attention to the “gold franc” provision in the Montreux Convention, laying the intellectual groundwork for what currently amounts to approximately $1 billion in annual revenue for Turkey.

He was born in 1966 in Elazığ, Turkey. He graduated from the Naval High School in 1984 and from the Turkish Naval Academy in 1988. He completed his studies at the Naval War College as valedictorian in 2000 and later graduated from the Turkish Armed Forces War College in 2003.

In terms of his civilian education, he earned a Master’s degree in Human Resources Management (Department of English Business Administration) at Marmara University between 1988 and 1992. In 1995, he completed dual Master’s degrees in Physics Engineering and Electronic Engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in California, USA. He obtained his Ph.D. in International Relations from Istanbul University in 2003, with a dissertation titled "Transformation in Iraq and the Turkmens."

Throughout his military career, Rear Admiral Yaycı held various sea and land-based posts within the Turkish Naval Forces, including branch officer, department head, and commander of the frigate TCG Kemalreis. He also served as Commodore of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla. In addition to his sea commands, he held key positions at Naval Forces Headquarters, such as Head of the Department of Strategy and Agreements and Director of various strategic planning units.

He was promoted to Rear Admiral (Lower Half) in 2012. Between 2012 and 2014, he served as the Turkish Armed Forces Military Attaché in Moscow. He then served as Commander of the Southern Task Group and Director of the Multinational Maritime Security Centre of Excellence (2014–2015), followed by Commander of the Multinational Joint Warfare Center (2015–2016).

Following the treacherous coup attempt by FETÖ on July 15, 2016, he was promoted to Rear Admiral (Upper Half) on July 29, 2016. He subsequently served as the Chief of Naval Personnel (2016–2017) and Chief of Staff of the Turkish Naval Forces Command (2017–2020). He resigned from the Turkish Armed Forces on May 18, 2020.

Following his resignation, he founded the Turkish Maritime and Global Strategies Center (TÜRKDEGS), widely known to the public as the Blue Homeland Center. He is currently serving as a faculty member at Istanbul Topkapı University.

He is the author of numerous books and scientific articles. He is married with one child and is fluent in English and Russian.