ORHAN KETENE

Mr. Orhan Ketene was born in 1953 in Kerkuk, Iraq. In 1971, after finishing high school in Baghdad, he went to Turkey and obtained his B.S.degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Technical University of Istanbul in 1977. Later, he immigrated to Canada in 1981, and moved to the United States in 1997. In his professional career, Mr. Ketene worked as an Aerospace Engineer in Turkey, Canada, and the United States. He worked for Turkish Aircraft Industries, General Motors, Bristol Aerospace, Canadair, and Boeing Aircraft Company. 

Mr. Ketene has been involved in the Turkmen movement since 1969. He established a Turkmen organization that was active in all Turkmen areas of Iraq from Telafer-Mosul in the north to Kerkuk, Tuz, and Baghdad. He took part in various social activities to promote the identity awareness and the national revival among the Turkmen youth in Iraq. He participated in the cultural activities of the Iraqi Turks Culture and Solidarity Association in Istanbul, Turkey between 1971 and 1977. He established the Iraqi Turkmen Organization (ITO) in 1997 to introduce and promote the Turkmen cause in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Western Europe.

He has been serving as the official representative of the Iraqi Turkmen Front in the United States since October 29, 2001. Mr. Ketene published many articles on the Turkmen issue on the Internet news bulletins including Turkistan newsletter, Turkish Forum, Turkish Times, and a prominent article in the Washington Times Insight Magazine, October 2-9, 2000 entitled "Turkmen Should Be Given Human-Rights protections."