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Gün Sazak (26 March 1932 – 27 May 1980) was a Turkish nationalist politician and former government minister of the
Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party, or alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party (, MHP), is a Turkish Far-right politics, far-right, ultranationalism, ultranationalist Political parties in Turkey, political party. The group is often de ...
(MHP). He was assassinated by the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front after his police guard was removed. After his killing, MHP supporters carried out the Çorum massacre in reprisal.


Early life and family

Gün Sazak was born on 26 March 1932 in
Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
to Emin Sazak and his wife AyÅŸe. His father was a member of parliament from the
Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...
(CHP) and later the Democrat Party (DP). His brother Güven Sazak served as the president of
Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...
club Fenerbahçe SK, and Yılmaz Sazak, was the president of the Turkish Athletic Federation. Sazak completed his primary and secondary education in Ankara. His family had extensive agricultural land at Sazak village in the Mihalıççık district of
EskiÅŸehir Province EskiÅŸehir Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in northwestern Turkey. Its area is 13,960 km2, and its population is 906,617 (2022). Its adjacent provinces are B ...
. Because of this land Sazak went in 1951 to the United States to study at the California State Polytechnic University College of Agriculture. After eight years, he returned home, and worked on a construction business and the family farm. Sazak achieved a significant increase in agricultural production by applying modern techniques. He was married to Nilgün and they had a son named Süleyman Servet Sazak in 1955. He later became a member of parliament from Eskişehir. The Sazaks also had two daughters, Mahmure Gülgün Sazak, and Ayşe Bilgün Sazak. Ayşe Bilgün married textile businessman Cem Boyner.


Politician career

In 1971, Gün Sazak entered politics representing the
Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party, or alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party (, MHP), is a Turkish Far-right politics, far-right, ultranationalism, ultranationalist Political parties in Turkey, political party. The group is often de ...
(MHP). Sazak was elected to the post deputy chairman of the MHP in 1972 following a traffic accident which killed the previous holder of the post. At the 1977 general election, Sazak unsuccessfully ran for an EskiÅŸehir Province seat in the
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, representing the MHP. During the formation of the 41st government (the so-called Second Nationalist Front coalition cabinet) of
Süleyman Demirel Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the List of Presidents of Turkey, 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously serv ...
, Sazak was appointed Minister of Customs and Monopolies despite not being member of the parliament. He served as government minister 21 July 1977 until 5 January 1978. During his term he successfully fought corruption, smuggling and customs fraud. Sazak reduced arms trafficking conducted by organized crime and terrorism and imported cigarette smuggling. Customs corruption was said to be restored after he left the post. Abdi İpekçi (1929–1979), the later-assassinated editor-in-chief of the daily '' Milliyet'', who opposed Sazak's politically, had praised Sazak in a column on 12 October 1978 for his achievement in re-establishing law and order at the customs. Another political opponent CHP stated during the 1978 budget debates that Sazak is the only person, who had stopped the "robbery" at the customs since the foundation of the Republic. Gün Sazak was also the chairman of the executive board at the daily ''Hergün''.


Assassination

Gün Sazak's official police guard was removed by an order of the martial law commander in Ankara. This was despite the risk to Sazak during a period of political unrest. On 27 May 1980, Gün Sazak was assassinated in front of his house by members of the Marxist–Leninist terrorist group Revolutionary Left (), shortly ''Dev Sol''. The terrorists, who were later identified as Mehmet Edip Eranıl, Ahmet Levent Babacan, Sadık Zafer Özcan and Cengiz Gül arrived at Sazak's house around 19:00 hours and they then waited for Sazak's arrival. Gül shot and severely wounded Gün Sazak in his back as he arrived home around midnight. Sazak had got out of his car and he was trying to take his belongings out of the car's boot. Sazak died on his way to the hospital. It was later said that a passing minibus had hindered Babacan's shooting. The perpetrators left on foot and later caught a taxi.


Aftermath

After the assassination, Gül and Babacan delivered their handguns to 17-year-old Cem Öz, another member of Dev Sol. Instructed by Gül, Özcan phoned the newspapers '' Milliyet'' and '' Tercüman'' and gave notice of Dev Sol's responsibility for the assassination. Two days after the assassination, MHP supporters were said to have spread propaganda about Sazak's death. Alevis in Çorum were attacked and there was a call to attack both Alevis and any left wing activists. The military restored order after 48 people were said to have died and numerous people had their faces mutilated. In July 1980, Dev Sol claimed responsibility for the assassination in its illegal journal ''Devrimci Sol''. The capture of the assailants took time. The fugitives Eranıl, who was the organization's Ankara office chief, Cemal Kemal Altun, a co-planner of the assassination, and Gül fled abroad after the military coup on 12 September 1980. Gül crossed the border to
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
first, and then went to
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, Germany. Sadık Zafer Özcan was apprehended on 2 March, Ahmet Levent Babacan on 7 March and Cem Öz on 15 March 1981. Ten months after the assassination, Babacan, Özcan and Öz, were apprehended. On 6 April 1983, the 2nd Military Court of the Martial Law Command in Ankara sentenced Babacan to life imprisonment, Öz to five years aggravated imprisonment, and Özcan to six years aggravated imprisonment. Eranıl, who was considered the mastermind behind the assassination hijacked a plane with three other accomplices. The Turkish Airlines airplane was on a domestic flight from
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
to
Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
and it was commanded to go to
Burgas Burgas (, ), sometimes transliterated as Bourgas, is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, fourth-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, an ...
in Bulgaria on 24 May 1981. The hijackers asked for the release of nearly 50 prisoners in Turkey and half a million dollars. They were overpowered by their hostages and were arrested by the Bulgarian police. However, it was not revealed whether Eranıl was extradited to Turkey or not. Eranıl was reported to be running a café in
Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...
, Germany in 2008. Altun was arrested in Germany on 5 July 1982 in connection with the assassination of former Turkish prime minister Nihat Erim. However Altun committed suicide by jumping from the sixth floor of the courthouse in
West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...
, Germany on 30 August 1983 to prevent his extradition to Turkey. In January 2013, a report of the National Intelligence Organization of Turkey (MİT) revealed that the assassination of Gün Sazak was instructed by Dursun Karataş (1952–2008), the leader of Dev Sol.


Legacy

A boulevard in Karşıyaka district of
İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...
and streets in Uşak and in Keçiören, Ankara are named after him. A secondary boarding school in his family's hometown in Mihaliççık, Eskişehir bears his name.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sazak, Gun Political violence in Turkey (1976–1980) 1932 births Politicians from Ankara California State Polytechnic University, Pomona alumni Nationalist Movement Party politicians Deputies of Eskişehir 1980 deaths Assassinated Turkish politicians Deaths by firearm in Turkey Turkish nationalists Ministers of customs and trade of Turkey Asian politicians assassinated in the 1980s Politicians assassinated in 1980