Galip Balkar


Galip Balkar was a Turkish diplomat. He was assassinated by two Armenian gunmen in 1983 during his duty as the Turkish ambassador to Yugoslavia.

Life and career

Galip Balkar was born in 1936 in Istanbul. He was graduated from Ankara University, Law School. In 1939, he entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was appointed the Ambassador of Turkey to Yugoslavia in 1981.

Assassination

On 9 March 1983, two Armenian gunmen opened fire with small firearms at Galip Balkar's auto, which stopped for a red light at a major downtown intersection in Belgrade. Balkar and his chauffeur Necati Kaya were wounded, the condition of the ambassador being critical. The two assailants then attempted to run away from the scene. Two Yugoslav security agents in the area chased them and shots were exchanged. The gunmen wounded one of the agents, Slobodan Brajević. Another shot aimed at Brajević had ricocheted off a wall and slightly wounded an office worker, Zorica Solotić.Student Željko Milivojević,from Inđija was killed by one of the terrorist with three gun shoots.
Galip Balkar died on 11 March in the neurosurgical clinic in Belgrade where he was in critical condition after emergency surgery for two bullet wounds one in the head, the other through the right shoulder to the spine.