He became president just months before Turkey took up the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (November 2010) and at the same time that there was a Turkish president of the Congress of the Council of Europe.
Dia menjadi presiden hanya beberapa bulan setelah Turki memegang pimpinan Komite Menteri dari Dewan Eropa (November 2010) dan pada saat yang sama ada seorang presiden Kongres Dewan Eropa dari Turki.