Ramadan Güney
British-Turkish Cypriot businessman and politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ramadan Güney (18 February 1932 – 2 November 2006) was a British-Turkish Cypriot businessman and politician. He was the owner of Brookwood Cemetery, the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom, with the aim of establishing a Turkish cemetery.[1][2] Güney was also the founder and chairman of the UK Turkish Islamic Trust and had established the first Turkish mosque in London, Shacklewell Lane Mosque, in 1977.[3][4]
Ramadan Güney | |
|---|---|
Ramadan Güney in later life | |
| Born | 18 February 1932 |
| Died | 2 November 2006 (aged 74) |
| Spouse | Süheyla Güney |
| Children | Gulen Musa, Alev Kanli, Onder Guney, Zerin Korkmazer, Erkin Guney, Gonul Guney and Houssein Guney (Beaux South) |
He was also a founding member of the VOLKAN organisation in Cyprus, established in the 1950s as part of the struggle against the Greek Cypriot nationalists, EOKA. He was in later years a Member of Parliament and presidential candidate in Northern Cyprus.[5]
Life
Güney was born in Paphos, Cyprus in 1932 to Turkish Cypriot parents.[5] After leaving school, he served in the British Army and police on the island. However, in 1955, with the rise of EOKA Greek Cypriots fought a violent campaign for the end of British rule as well as for union with Greece (enosis); Güney fought against this by becoming a founding member of the Volkan organisation.[5] In 1958 he emigrated to Britain where he set up a music publishing business and became a millionaire at the age of 35.[6] In 1977 he helped found and run the first Turkish Cypriot mosque in London, called the Shacklewell Lane Mosque, and worked on a variety of social and community projects, arising from his work with the UK Turkish Islamic Centre.[3]
He acquired Brookwood Cemetery in 1985, the purchase evolving from Güney's role as Chairman of the UK Turkish Islamic Trust, which wanted suitable burial facilities for its members.[3]
In 1990 he stood guarantor for £1m for the bail of Asil Nadir,[7] who was accused and eventually convicted of theft in his role as the chief executive of Polly Peck, a British textile company.[8] Nadir eventually fled, but the courts ruled that Güney was not liable to pay the £1m because bail had not technically been renewed; it also turned out that Güney had warned the Serious Fraud Office in advance of his concerns that Nadir might flee.[7]
He died at the age of 74 in Northern Cyprus. Following a service at his mosque in London, he was buried in his family vault at Brookwood Cemetery on Friday 10 November 2006.[3]
Personal life
Güney was married to Süheyla Güney who died in 1992.[9] They had two sons and four daughters from this marriage.[3]
Diane Holliday was Güney's partner of six years before his death.[10] In 2011, the inheritance of the cemetery was successfully challenged by Diane Holliday and her adult son from a previous marriage, Kevin.[11]