Egemen Bağış

Egemen Bağış ( born April 23, 1970 in Bingöl ) is a Turkish politician of the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi ( AKP) and from 2009 to December 25, 2013 the first European Affairs Minister of his country.

Life

Bağış family is originally from the province of Siirt. His father was Abdullah Bağış 1974-1979 Mayor of Siirt. Egemen Bağış lived from 1985 to 2002 in the United States and studied in New York " Human Resources " (Personnel Management). In November 2002, he came to the ACP to the Turkish Parliament. He is regarded as a reformer and staunch supporter of the EU.

In January 2009, Bağış was appointed the first Turkish Minister of State for the European Union, which was in the following Cabinet upgraded in July 2011 to the Minister for Europe. He took over the leadership of Turkey's accession negotiations with the European Union, which had been lying there by then Foreign Minister Ali Babacan. On 25 December 2013, has been replaced as part of a reshuffle in the wake of a corruption scandal Mevlut Cavusoglu by as Minister for Europe.

Bağış is married and has two children.

Positions

EU accession

Bagis warned the German Chancellor Angela Merkel on 20 June 2013, it should not play with the EU. You 'll " see that those who meddle in the affairs of Turkey, take no vielverheißendes end ," he was quoted by an agency.

Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said, on the same day if Bağış was reproduced correctly - you 'll still check - then he, Westerwelle was " surprised and disturbed ". This is a language that you should not associate with each other. There are reminders to the address of Ankara. The emergence of a civil society should a government " not be afraid ", but rejoice - " especially when you want to go to Europe." A few days later Bağış relativized his statement and assured, with his threats in the days before had traded to a "misunderstanding ", he had merely want to bring his disappointment with the reactions of Germany expressed.

Bağış calls for a solution to the Cyprus conflict, in which some of both sides. When asked by a journalist whether the connection of Northern Cyprus could be the subject of Turkey, the Minister replied that this could also be an alternative.

Gezi Park protests

During the protests in Turkey in 2013 of lying next to Taksim Square Gezi Park was forcibly evicted on 15 June 2013. Bağış said in an interview that anyone who set foot Taksim Square, was being treated like a terrorist.

Denial of the Armenian genocide

Bağış had denied in January 2012 at the World Economic Forum in Davos and at the edge of a concert singer Sezen Aksu in Zurich the genocide of the Armenians. After these remarks appeared in several Turkish media, these were collected by the Company Switzerland - Armenia handed over to the public prosecutor of the canton of Zurich. In February 2012, the Zurich prosecutor's office launched an investigation against Bağış one for violating the racism criminal provision. Bağış is also available after the start of the investigation into his denial of the genocide, and confirming them. In an interview with BBC News, he called the "Germans should open their archives and historians can evaluate the material ." Following the initiation of the Swiss Ambassador in Ankara, Raimund Kunz, was summoned on February 6, 2012 due to the matter in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey.

Awards

Bağış 2011 was awarded the Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. In 2005 he received the Order of Merit in officer class.