Making a name for himself through the Turkish posts he shares on social media, Hungarian envoy to Ankara Viktor Matis enjoys the popularity he has as the most followed foreign envoy in Turkey.

"Currently, I have 35,000 followers. I am not only the most followed Hungarian envoy in the world but also the most followed foreign envoy in Turkey," said Matis, who served in Turkey various times and in the process learned Turkish. He added that he came to Turkey for the first time in 2005 when his initial enthusiasm for the Turkish language started as the Turks he worked with did not know English.

After returning to Hungary, he enrolled in university for the second time and decided to specialize in Turkey. At that time, he wrote his thesis on the "Turkish Republic's Diplomatic History."

"I was appointed as Turkey's educational and cultural attache in 2010. And then, I became the mission chief deputy, and thus worked in Turkey until the year 2016," he said.

Matis was appointed again in 2019 as an ambassador to Turkey and used his Twitter account – which he initially opened back in 2012 – the day before he started his duty in the country to share a photo of the Iskender kebab.

Speaking of the advantages of being an ambassador who speaks Turkish, Matis said, "When you enter an interview, you can meet twice as many (people) as people who do not speak Turkish. There is an exchange of ideas immediately, no translator in between."

Matis underlined that Turkey's Embassy in Hungary, its general consulates and cultural centers have many Turkish-speaking Turcologists.

"I'm alone working together with three Turcologists in Ankara. Two of our trade attaches are Turcologists," he said.

Matis is also a diplomat who served as a translator in President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's meetings with Hungarian officials. For this reason, Matis met with Erdoğan.

"After returning to Hungary, he (Erdoğan) learned that we have a child. He gave advice on family planning. He did not say three children but said: 'continue.' I followed his advice and our second child was born here." Matis expressed.

Knowing Turkish a plus

Noting that he saw the advantages of knowing Turkish in his speeches with the ministers and government officials, Matis explained that he had difficulties mostly in terms specific to some subjects.

"It requires serious energy and concentration for me. For example, I do not know the words in the field of construction. Currently, our residence is under renovation. Of course, I am dealing with special subjects, but I may not know those words. For example, the zoning plan, the General Directorate of Land Registry and cadastre. A foreigner does not know these. I have to learn."

Ambassador Matis stated that although he does not have a very pronounced accent, there is an element that reveals that his accent is foreign.

"Even though not so much, people can understand that Turkish is not my mother tongue. For this reason, I jokingly say that I am from Trabzon. This may not be a very nice thing for Trabzon residents, but Trabzon has been a good cover for me," he said, referring to a northern province of Turkey known for its unique Turkish accent.

Matis also pointed out that there are about 20-30 diplomats in the Hungarian Foreign Ministry who speak Turkish and added: "There are no Turkish diplomats who speak Hungarian yet. We hope to see that in the future."

Expressing that this is not a major problem for Hungary, Matis acknowledged Turkey's position as a leader in the region and said that it is an advantage for a diplomat to be able to speak Turkish with Turkish diplomats all around the world.

Turkish-Hungarian ties reflect on social media

Matis is known not only for his knowledge of Turkish but also for his humorous personality and his incredible number of followers on Twitter.

Describing Twitter as the "Wild West with no rules," Matis is known for sharing most of his posts in Turkish. Stating that there was an increasing interest in him for this reason, Matis said: "I set goals when I came here. I wanted to have 1,000 followers at the end of the first year and at the end of the fourth year, I wanted to have 10,000 followers. With this goal, I would be the second most followed Hungarian ambassador in the world after the fourth year. I currently have 35,000 followers," he said.

In the envoy's opinion, this is not a result of personal interest in him, but instead an outcome of the friendly ties between Turkey and Hungary.

"Our job is very boring," said Matis, regarding the funny posts he shares. When it comes to his famous Iskender kebab shares, he said: "My most favorite dish is Iskender kebab. The food culture of Turkey is already famous, I also love many dishes," he said.

Stating that he received criticism, Matis said some people had likened his Twitter profile photo to a criminal mug shot.

Admitting that he sometimes makes spelling mistakes, Matis said, "Lastly, I wrote 'It's a very bad weather.' Someone responds me, 'If you write 'very well,' you have to continue the sentence with something positive (according to Turkish grammar).' I did not know this," he underlined.

An ambassador who served in Turkey before Matis who was also featured among the most followed on social media was Britain's former Ambassador to Ankara Richard Moore. Moore and another diplomat who speaks Turkish, former French Ambassador to Ankara Bernard Emie, today are at the head of their countries' intelligence services.

Explaining that he was also reminded of this situation, Matis said: "They scare me, 'The French Ambassador took over the secret service, Moore took over the head of MI6. They both knew Turkish. You will be in charge of the intelligence,' they say."