Egemen Bağış Explained

Egemen Bağış
Office2:Former Chief Negotiator for Turkish Accession to the European Union
Predecessor2:Ali Babacan
Primeminister2:Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Successor2:Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
Party:Justice and Development Party (AKP)
Office1:Minister of European Union Affairs
Predecessor1:Position established
Primeminister1:Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Successor1:Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
Birth Date:23 April 1970
Birth Place:Bingöl, Turkey
Spouse:Beyhan N. Bağış
Alma Mater:Baruch College
Term Start1:29 June 2011
Term End1:25 December 2013
Term Start2:11 January 2009
Term End2:25 December 2013
Office3:Former Member of the Grand National Assembly
Term Start3:19 November 2002
Term End3:7 June 2015
Constituency3:İstanbul (II) (2002, 2007)
İstanbul (I) (2011)

Egemen Bağış (pronounced as /tr/) (born 23 April 1970) [1] is a former Turkish politician of, former member of the Turkish parliament, the former minister for EU Affairs and chief negotiator of Turkey in accession talks with the European Union[2] and, a former ambassador of Turkey to the Czech Republic.[3]

Early life

Bağış was born in Bingöl, Turkey, in 1970 into a family which originated from Siirt. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Resources Management as well as a Master of Public Administration, both from the Baruch College of City University of New York.[4]

Official responsibilities

As a top adviser to the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Bağış played a key role in the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) policies.

Federation of Turkish American Associations

Bağış formerly served as the president of the Federation of Turkish American Associations, the New York-based umbrella organization of Turkish-Americans that sponsored his green card petition in the United States. He has also served as a member of the advisory board on Turkish Citizens Abroad, a government body. He was the manager of the Antik Bar at the Jolly Madison Hotel serving the Turkish American community.[5] [6] He also founded the Turkish Link, a New York-based translation agency specialized in the Turkish and English languages.[7]

Controversies

Protests of 2013

See main article: 2013 protests in Turkey. During the 2013 protests in Turkey, Bağış attracted criticism for his comments that "Everyone who enters Taksim Square will be treated like a terrorist."[8] In an officially published statement, and despite claims and evidence presented by organizations such as Amnesty International, Bağış claimed that "There is no state violence in Turkey".[9] In the same statement, he claimed that "Turkey has the most reformist and strongest government in Europe and the most charismatic and strongest leader in the world. Should anyone have a problem with this, then I am truly sorry. Only for those who feel overwhelmed is the leadership of Prime Minister Erdoğan a problem."[9]

Germany's Foreign Ministry summoned the Turkish ambassador to protest after Bağış accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of "picking on" Turkey for domestic political gain before German elections, after Merkel criticized the crackdown as "much too strong". The accusation came after Germany blocked a decision to move forward the membership negotiations after the crackdown. Bağış said that if Merkel is looking for "internal political material" ahead of Germany's September elections, "this should not be Turkey". He also pointed to the election defeat last year of then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a fellow opponent of Turkish EU membership.[10]

"Masturbation" remark

In January 2013 Bağış compared the campaign to recognize the Assyrian genocide and Armenian genocide in Sweden to "masturbation" .[11] He later apologised for his remark.[12]

Corruption scandal

See main article: 2013 corruption scandal in Turkey. As part of claims that Bağış, along with 3 other ministers, engaged in severely corrupt conduct, Bağış was the only one out of the four charged ministers who had not resigned on 25 December 2013. Despite Bağış claiming innocence, that evening, Prime Minister Erdoğan announced a major cabinet reshuffle, removing Bağış from his post as the Minister for European Union through his publicly unannounced official resignation.[13]

Mocking the Quran

Voice recordings of Bağış mocking the Quran, particularly Surah Al-Baqarah, were leaked.[14] This caused major controversy.[15] Bağış claimed that he never said such things, but the voice recordings were later proven to be authentic.[16] Turkish religious leader Ahmet Mahmut Ünlü criticised Bağış, stating "He mocked Surah Al Baqarah, they [<nowiki/>[[Justice and Development Party (Turkey)|Ak Party]]] still talk with him, sit and laugh with him. I wouldn't even look at his face, even if they gave me the whole world."[17] [18]

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://prague-emb.mfa.gov.tr/Mission/Biography
  2. Web site: Turkey's Chief EU Negotiator Bağış Arrives in London . 9 February 2010 .
  3. https://https://sgkrehber.com/haber/prag-buyukelcisi-egemen-bagis-gorevden-alindi-16930.html
  4. Web site: Egemen Bagis HuffPost. 2022-02-16. www.huffpost.com. en.
  5. Web site: Home . jollymadison.com.
  6. Web site: Egemen Bağış Bar İşletmecisi miydi? | Son Dakika . 17 December 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131217060342/http://www.son-dakika.org/gundem/egemen-bagis-bar-isletmecisi-miydi.html . 17 December 2013 . dead . dmy-all .
  7. Web site: Turkish-Link, USA and UK based Turkish translation agency . www.linkcompanies.com . 13 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131217064231/http://www.linkcompanies.com/turkishlink/turkish_translation_about.html . 17 December 2013 . dead.
  8. News: Everyone who enters Taksim will be treated as a terrorist: Turkish EU Minister . 16 June 2013 . Hürriyet Daily News . 15 June 2013.
  9. News: Statement on the recent events by the Turkish EU Minister . 15 June 2013 . Turkish Ministry for EU Affairs . 16 June 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130617223241/http://www.abgs.gov.tr/index.php?p=49004&l=2 . 17 June 2013 . dmy-all .
  10. News: Germany summons Turkish ambassador to hear protest after minister assails Chancellor Merkel . https://archive.today/20130624193109/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/germany-summons-turkish-ambassador-to-hear-protest-after-minister-assails-chancellor-merkel/2013/06/21/1769f41c-da5f-11e2-b418-9dfa095e125d_story.html . dead . 24 June 2013 . 21 June 2013 . . (Associated Press) . 21 June 2013.
  11. News: Turkish EU Minister Compares Assyrian Genocide of 1915 to Masturbation . 26 February 2013 . AINA . 23 April 2013.
  12. News: Turkish Minister 'Apologizes' to Assyrians for Genocide 'Masturbation' Remark . 12 March 2013 . AINA . 23 April 2013.
  13. News: BAKANLARIN İSTİFASI VE ATANMASINA DAİR İŞLEM . 25 December 2013 . T.C. Resmi Gazete . 26 December 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131222025026/http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/main.aspx?home=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.resmigazete.gov.tr%2Feskiler%2F2013%2F12%2F20131227.htm&main=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.resmigazete.gov.tr%2Feskiler%2F2013%2F12%2F20131227.htm . 22 December 2013 . dmy .
  14. Web site: Taha Akyol: Kuran-ı Kerim'in Bakara suresi ile "makara" diye alay edildiğinde, Erdoğan böyle açık hassasiyet göstermiş miydi? . 2023-04-28 . T24 . Turkish.
  15. Web site: Duvar . Gazete . 2022-10-30 . 'Bakara-makara' kaydındaki gazeteci: Egemen Bağış yanlış anlaşıldı . 2023-04-28 . Gazeteduvar . tr-TR.
  16. Web site: Egemen Bağış'tan 'Bakara, makara' açıklaması . 2023-04-28 . CNN TÜRK . tr.
  17. Web site: Cübbeli Ahmet Hoca: Adam Bakara suresine makara dedi, adamla muhabbet edenler var . 2023-04-28 . T24 . Turkish.
  18. Web site: Cübbeli Ahmet Hoca Egemen Bağış'ı topa tuttu! . 2023-04-28 . Milli Gazete . tr.