Cuneyd Zapsu

Hasan Cuneyd Zapsu (born 19 November 1956 in İstanbul)[1] is a Turkish politician and businessman of Kurdish descent. He was a co-founder of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey and also the founder of Balsu, one of the leading hazelnut producers in the world.

Cuneyd Zapsu
Born19 November 1956
Istanbul, Turkey
CitizenshipTurkish
Alma materIstanbul University, Ludwig Maximilian University
OccupationBusinessman
Political partyJustice and Development Party
Spouse(s)Beyza Zapsu

Early life and Education

Cüneyd Zapsu was born in Istanbul as a descendant of Bedir Khan Beg and also Abdurrahim Rahmi Zapsu.[2] After the Turkish coup d'état of 1960 the family had to leave Turkey as his father was a politician in the governing Democrat Party.[3] They moved to Munich, Germany, where he attended primary education. They returned to Istanbul in the second half of the 1960s, and he went to school at the German High School. After his high school graduation, he studied business administration at the Istanbul University[3] and later also at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich from where he also graduated[1] in 1979.[3]

Professional career

In 1977 he entered business life and held various positions in the companies his family owned.[4] He founded Balsu,[5]which was to become a leading hazelnut exporter in 1978.[6] He was the Chairman of the Association of Exporters of Istanbul between 1987 and 2001 and was a founder or a board member in several hazelnut associations.[1] In 1995[7] he and his brother Aziz Zapsu were the co-founders of the Turkish discount stores chain BiM.[8] He sold his shares though to Merrill Lynch in 2000.[9]

Yasin Kadi controversy

Their business relation with the Saudi entrepreneur Yasin Kadi brought the Zapsu brothers some attention by the Turkish authorities, since Kadi was on the terror list of the United Nations (UN).[8] Cüneyd Zapsu and his mother also donated an amount of 300'000$ to the charity Mufaqaf in 1990s, which is closely related to Yasin Kadi and has been classified as to be connected to Al Qaeda by the United States following the attack on the 11 September 2001 on the Twin Towers in New York.[10] But according to Forbes, Aziz Zapsu stated that there have been no irregularities in their business relations and also Guy Martin, the lawyer of Yasin Kadi stated that no UN sanctions were breached with the transactions in question.[8]

Political career

In 2001, he resigned from his businesses and became a founding member of the AKP. He never was a candidate to parliament, but an important adviser to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan[4] and often also translator in meetings Erdoğan held with western politicians.[3] In 2006 he accompanied Erdoğan to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos[11] of which he is also a member.[1] In 2003 he supported a political solution to the conflict towards the conflict of Cyprus and advised the Kurdish rebels to demand their rights in a political way as the laws in 2003 were much better than before.[12]

Return to business

He resigned an advisor to Erdogan in 2008 and founded the Cuneyd Zapsu Consultancy Inc. which serves as an advisor to various global and Turkish enterprises. He has also returned to the hazelnut processor and exporter Balsu.[1] He serves as a senior advisor to Coca-Cola since 2012 and in May 2017, he was appointed a member of the board to the company which builds the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant.[13] He is also a member of the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSAID)[1] and serves as a Member of the Executive Committee for the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council (INC) since 2007.[14]

Personal life

Cüneyd Zapsu resides in Istanbul, is married to Beyza Zapsu[11] and is the father of three children.[3] Through his paternal aunt,[15] he is related to Musa Anter.[2]

References
  1. "Cuneyd Zapsu". www.czapsu.com. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  2. "Muhalif Ailenin Muktedir Üyeleri | Chronicle Dergisi". web.archive.org. 2010-12-08. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  3. "Cuneyd Zapsu" (PDF). Esiweb. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  4. "H. Cuneyd Zapsu | 世界经济论坛". cn.weforum.org. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  5. "BALSU - FOUNDER'S LETTER". www.balsugida.com. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  6. "BALSU - BUSINESS". www.balsugida.com. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  7. "Bim A.Ş. > Welcome..." english.bim.com.tr. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  8. "The Al Qadi Affair". Forbes. 24 January 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  9. Strauss, Delphine (6 October 2010). "BIM rings the changes for Turkey's shoppers". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  10. Ioannis, Michaletos (1 January 2008). "Turkey's Islamic overturn". www.rieas.gr. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  11. Ozkok, Ertugrul (27 January 2006). "Ertugrul Ozkok:The Zapsu case, Erdogan, and the media". www.hurriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  12. Biegala, Eric (2003-11-05). "Recep Tayyip Erdogan, un an d'islamisme pragmatique au pouvoir en Turquie". Le Temps (in French). ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  13. "Zapsu: En çok fındık ihraç eden Türk şirketiyim!'". www.haberturk.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  14. "AWARDS". Antalya Turkey. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  15. "Who's who in Politics in Turkey" (PDF). Heinrich Böll Stiftung. pp. 184–185. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
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