Kemal Unakıtan

Kemal Unakıtan (February 14, 1946 – October 12, 2016) was the Minister of Finance of Turkey from November 2002 to May 2009 and a Member of Parliament for Istanbul of the Justice and Development Party. He was born in Edirne.

Kemal Unakıtan
Minister of Finance
In office
19 November 2002 – 1 May 2009
Prime MinisterAbdullah Gül
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Preceded bySümer Oral
Succeeded byMehmet Şimşek
Personal details
Born(1946-02-14)14 February 1946
Edirne, Turkey
Died12 October 2016(2016-10-12) (aged 70)
Istanbul, Turkey
NationalityTurkish
Political partyJustice and Development Party
Alma materGazi University
OccupationCivil servant, politician
Cabinet58th, 59th, 60th

Previously he was a board member of the Family Finance Group.

During his tenure as minister of finance Unakitan presided over a number of situations primarily the Treasury's need to raise funds (!) at a time when Turkey had a large national debt and was failing to collect taxes to cover it. Unakıtan therefore

  • sold forestry land to raise funds for the treasury
  • raised fuel duties and other indirect taxation plus
  • imposed extra duties and payments such as his "permanent earthquake fund"

On March 7, 2008, Unakıtan received the Finance Minister of the Year Award from the business magazine The Banker.[1]

He died on October 12, 2016 after a prolonged illness.[2]

Books
  • Nedim Şener (2005), Fırsatlar Ülkesinde Bir Kemal Abi (A Kemal Abi in A Land of Opportunities)

References
  1. "Finance Minister of the Year: Kemal Unakitan". The Banker. 2008-01-02. Archived from the original on 2008-03-10. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  2. "Former Turkish finance minister Unakıtan dies aged 70". Hurriyet Daily News. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
Political offices
Preceded by
Sümer Oral		 Minister of Finance of Turkey
Nov 19, 2002–May 1, 2009		 Succeeded by
Mehmet Şimşek
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