Güneş Taner (born November 14, 1949) is a Turkish politician and former government minister.

Early life

Güneş Taner was born in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

to Cengiz Tahir Taner and his wife Süheyla on November 14, 1949. He was educated in civil engineering at

Yıldız Technical University Yıldız Technical University ( Tr. ''Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi'', often simply referred to as YTU or Yıldız) is a prominent technical university dedicated to engineering and natural sciences as well as social sciences recently, and is one ...

, and literature at Faculty of Letters in Istanbul University. He received a master's degree in Industrial administration from State University of New York Polytechnic Institute. He has an honorary doctor title awarded by

Plekhanov Russian University of Economics The Plekhanov Russian University of Economics (russian: Российский экономический университет имени Г. В. Плеханова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. It was founded in 1907 by ent ...

. Taner was an executive at Citibank.

Politics career

He served as politics advisor to the prime minister, and was among the founders of the Motherland Party ( tr, Anavatan Partisi, ANAP). He was elected to the parliament four times in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

and

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

general elections representing Istanbul Province. In 1990, Taner was appointed

placeholder Placeholder may refer to: Language * Placeholder name, a term or terms referring to something or somebody whose name is not known or, in that particular context, is not significant or relevant. * Filler text, text generated to fill space or provi ...

for the post of

Minister of National Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

in the Yıldırım Akbulut cabinet, and was in office for a short term from October 19 to 28. In the cabinet of Mesut Yılmaz, he served as Minister of State responsible for Economy between June 30, 1997, and November 25, 1998.

Türkbank scandal and trial

Turkey's first private bank, the Türk Ticaret Banksaı, aka Türkbank, went under control of the Treasury in May 1994 following its weakening as a result of the Turkish financial crisis, which blew up in January the same year. The bank's majority stake were taken over by the

Savings Deposit Insurance Fund of Turkey The Savings Deposit Insurance Fund of Turkey ( tr, Tasarruf Mevduatı Sigorta Fonu), a.k.a. TMSF in abbreviated form, is the governing body concerned with matters of fund management and insurance in the Turkish banking system. The body was found ...

( tr, Tasarruf Mevduatı Sigorta Fonu, TMSF) for sale in a public tender. Self-made businessman

Korkmaz Yiğit Korkmaz Yiğit (born 1943, in Erzincan) is a Turkish businessman. He made his fortune in construction, and expanded into finance and media, but fell rapidly from grace in 1998 when apparent connections with mob figure Alaattin Çakıcı were reve ...

won the tender offering US$600 million. However, a recording tape containing a private conversation of him with the mob boss

Alaattin Çakıcı Aladdin ( ar, علاء الدين, commonly ) (various spellings and transliterations) is a male given name which means "nobility of faith" or "nobility of creed/religion". It is one of a large class of names ending with ad-Din. The name may refer ...

about the tender became public, and caused a scandal. The scandal spread over to the politics when Yiğit gave in his testimony details about his connections with Prime Minister

Mesut Yılmaz Ahmet Mesut Yılmaz () (6 November 1947 – 30 October 2020) was a Turkish politician. He was the leader of the Motherland Party ( tr, Anavatan Partisi, ANAP) from 1991 to 2002, and served three times as Prime Minister of Turkey. His first two p ...

and Minister responsible for Economy Güneş Taner relating to the tender. Yiğit claimed that "Yılmaz and Taner encouraged him to buy Türkbank, and offered him loans from other state banks to ensure that his bid was the highest". The tender was annulled, Çakıcı and Yiğit were arrested. The coalition cabinet led by Yılmaz fell down by a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...

on January 11, 1999. A parliamentary investigative report, which accused Yılmaz and Güneş for conspiring to rig bids on tender, became obsolete due to nearing general election in 1999. After the general election in 2002, a new parliamentary investigation committee confirmed the accusations against both the politicians, and proposed to send them to the

Constitutional Court of Turkey The Constitutional Court of Turkey ( tr, , sometimes abbreviated as ''AYM'') is the highest legal body for constitutional review in Turkey. It "examines the constitutionality, in respect of both form and substance, of laws, decrees having the for ...

( tr, Yüce Divan) for trial. The supreme court concluded on June 23, 2006, that Yılmaz and Taner are guilty of bid rigging as per Turkish Penal Code's Article 765 Section 205. However, the sentences were reprieved in accordance with applicable laws.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Taner, Gunes 1949 births Living people Politicians from Istanbul Yıldız Technical University alumni Istanbul University alumni SUNY Polytechnic Institute alumni Motherland Party (Turkey) politicians Deputies of Istanbul Ministers of National Defence of Turkey Ministers of Economic Affairs of Turkey Turkish politicians convicted of corruption Members of the 21st Parliament of Turkey Members of the 20th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 47th government of Turkey Members of the 55th government of Turkey Ministers of State of Turkey