Egemen Bagiş

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Person.png Egemen Bagiş   WebsiteRdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(politician)
Egemen Bagis portrait.JPG
Born23 April 1970
Bingöl, Turkey
NationalityTurkish
Alma materBaruch College
SpouseBeyhan N. Bağış
PartyJustice and Development Party, (AKP)
Bilderberg Turkish politician. Former president of the Federation of Turkish American Associations.

Employment.png Turkey/Ambassador/Czech Republic

In office
November 2019 - Present

Employment.png Turkey/Minister/European Union Affairs

In office
29 June 2011 - 25 December 2013

Egemen Bağış is a former Turkish politician of Kurdish origin. With strong ties to Turkey-USA associations, he is the former minister for EU Affairs and chief negotiator of Turkey in accession talks with the European Union.[1] After being removed from government in a corruption scandal, he currently serves as ambassador of Turkey to the Czech Republic

Early life

Bağış was born in Bingöl, Turkey, in 1970 into a Kurmanji-Kurdish 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.[2]

Official responsibilities

  • Turkish ambassador to the Czech Republic (Since November 2019)
  • Member of the Turkish Parliament, representing Istanbul
  • Chairman, Turkey-USA Inter Parliamentary Friendship Caucus of the Turkish Parliament
  • Advisory Board Chairman, Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Initiative.
  • Honorary board member of the Siirt Solidarity Foundation.

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 was 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 was also 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.[3] He also founded the Turkish Link, a New York-based translation agency specialized in the Turkish and English languages.[4]

Protests of 2013

During the 2013 protests in Turkey, Bağış attracted criticism for his comments that "Everyone who enters Taksim Square will be treated like a terrorist."[5] 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".[6] 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."[6]

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.[7]

"Masturbation" remark

In January 2013 Bağış compared the campaign to recognize the Assyrian genocide and Armenian genocide in Sweden to "masturbation".[8] He later 'apologised' for his remark.[9]

Corruption scandal

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.[10]

Ambassador

Bağış was appointed ambassador of Turkey to the Czech Republic by September 2019, replacing Ahmet Necati Bigalı.

 

Event Participated in

EventStartEndLocation(s)Description
Bilderberg/20068 June 200611 June 2006Canada
Ottawa
54th Bilderberg, held in Canada. 133 guests
Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.


References

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