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From 1923 to the Present
The Government of the Turkish Grand National Assembly saved the country
from being partitioned and occupied with the National War of Independence.
A few months following the signing of the Lausanne Treaty, in which the
Allied powers and the world recognized the independence and sovereignty of
Turkey, the Republican People's Party was established on 9 September 1923
and Mustafa Kemal was elected as its chairman. The administrative staff of
the party was composed of the military staff who directed the national
struggle and high-level bureaucrats. The party led by the leader and the
hero of the Turkish War of Independence stood for modernizing and
westernizing reforms in the political, judicial and educational fields.
These developments, however, disturbed the conservative elements in the
National Assembly. The discussions flared up on such issues as what would
happen now that the sultanate was abolished and how the parliament would
now act, with which authorities and on whose behalf. The institutions and
the office of the Caliphate, meanwhile stood in stark contradiction to the
new administration. All these developments made a radical transformation
compulsory.
Atatürk and the
accompanying delegation
in front of the Turkish Grand National
Assembly Building
29 October 1933
Thus, the Republic was proclaimed on 29 October 1923 in order to give
the state a democratic form in the contemporary sense. Mustafa Kemal, the
successful and great charismatic leader of the national struggle for
independence, was elected unanimously as the first President of the
Republic of Turkey. He appointed İsmet İnönü as the first Prime Minister.
Thus, the discussions and doubts about the Presidency were ended. Four
months later, the Caliphate, which was incompatible with the principle of
republicanism, was abolished and the members of the Ottoman Dynasty were
expatriated on 3 March 1924.
Being aware of the fact that the separation of religious and state
affairs and the provision of freedom of religion and conscience for
individuals were among the prerequisites of forming a modern society,
Mustafa Kemal initiated in the framework of the "principle of secularity"
the most important changes. After the abolition of the Caliphate, a series
of radical reforms were made in the institutions and mentality connected
to the Caliphate. The Ministry of Shariah and Foundations was replaced by
the Chairmanship of Religious Affairs and the Directorate of Foundations,
both connected to the Prime Ministry. The religious school order was
abolished on 3 March 1924 with the Unification of Education Law and all
schools and educational matters were united under the Ministry of National
Education. The Shariah Courts were replaced by secular courts with the
Judicial Organization Law. The wearing of the turban and fez that were
symbols of the former order were banned and the "hat" became the official
headgear, following the promulgation of the Hat Law on 25 November 1925.
Thus, the traditional symbols in attire, indicating differences of class,
rank and religious order were removed. The international hour and calendar
systems were adopted on 26 November 1925. The dervish lodges and tombs and
the titles of tariqahs (sects) were abolished on 25 November 1925. A
Turkish Civil Code was accepted on 17 February 1926 to replace the old
civil code and the Shariah Laws which were the foundation stones of
Ottoman law. The acceptance of the Turkish Civil Code made it necessary to
secularize all legislation and the Code of Obligations, the Criminal Code
and the Commercial Code were also rewritten according to contemporary
principles.
Important steps were taken concerning women's rights. Polygamy was
forbidden and marriages, to be officially recognized, had to be performed
in accordance with the civil code, not according to religious ceremonies
as in the past. Also, a law was promulgated which made it necessary to get
a court decree to get a divorce. Women obtained the right to vote and be
elected in the municipal elections in 1930, in elections held for village
councils in 1933 and in 1934, they obtained the right to vote and be
elected into the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
One of the most
important reforms initiated by Atatürk was the preparation of a new
Turkish alphabet by a board of linguists and academicians and the law
which envisaged the use of Latin letters was adopted by the TGNA on 1
November 1928. The adoption of this new phonetic alphabet was an important
step taken to help increase the literacy rate which had been very
low.
The old units of measurement and weight were changed in 1931.
Commercial and economic transactions were facilitated with the acceptance
of the metric system and a standard system of measurement was established
throughout Turkey.
The Surname Law was adopted on 21 June 1934. Mustafa
Kemal, the founder
of the new Turkish State and Republic, was given the surname of "Atatürk"
(Father of the Turks) by the TGNA.
The efforts to create a modern
country based on secular foundations was also reflected in the
Constitution. An amendment made to the Constitution in 1928 removed the
clause which had stated that the religion of the state is Islam. A clause
was put in the Constitution in 1937 stating that Turkey is a secular
state. Along with these developments, Atatürk established the Turkish
Historical Society in 1925 and Turkish Linguistic Society in 1932 in order
to strengthen the foundations of the new national state and contribute to
the development of a national consciousness among the Turkish
people.
The struggle for independence the Turks waged against the
imperialist states and the radical social, political and economic reforms
initiated by Atatürk, constituted an important example and model for the
Third World countries.
Domestic and Foreign Policy During the Atatürk Period. Atatürk
realized the reforms with the leadership of the Republican People's Party
(CHP), which had been established not as a party of any class or group in
the society, but as a party of all the people, and these reforms were
adopted by the people.
A short time after the CHP was established, the first experiment for a
transition to a multiparty system was made. The opponents of the secular
and modernizing policies of the government, and who thought that the
reforms were not compatible with the social and political structure of
Turkey, including a group of commanders from the National War of
Independence, such as Rauf Orbay, Kazım Karabekir and Ali Fuat Cebesoy,
resigned from the CHP and established the Progressive Republican Party on
17 November 1924. Kazım Karabekir was elected as the chairman of this
first opposition party. The Party was "conservative", not "reactionary"
both regarding its program and the mentality of its founders. However,
because it was the only opposition party, those whose interests were
harmed by the reforms, supported this party, thus escalating the political
passions. In fact, many who were against the Republic and secular
developments joined this party. Meanwhile, the reactionary Sheik Said
rebellion broke out in Southeastern Anatolia and the government closed the
Progressive Republican Party on 3 June 1925.
The second experiment with multiparty democracy in the Atatürk period,
started with the establishment of the Free Republican Party on 12 August
1930. The Free Party was
established with the approval of Atatürk
himself. The party was established by Fethi Okyar, the former Prime
Minister who was known for his opposition to İsmet İnönü. However, the new
party grew at an unexpectedly rapid pace. The reactionary powers against
the Republic, which also made use of the problems created by the world
economic crisis in 1929, started to use the new party for their own
objectives. Especially, due to the unfortunate events which occurred
during Fethi Okyar's trip to İzmir, the party dissolved itself on 17
November 1930.
The Republic administration first of all adopted a model based on
private enterprise for developing the backward economy it had inherited,
but in time it was forced to adopt statism to an increasing degree.
During the Atatürk period, a foreign policy was followed based on the
borders of the National Pact of 1920 and on peace. As the result of
successful diplomacy, the Montreux Agreement was signed in 1936, ensuring
that the İstanbul and the Dardanelles (Çanakkale) Straits were included in
the national defense system.
King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom during his visit to İstanbul in
1936
Friendship policies to be followed with all the neighboring countries
were made widespread with the Balkan Pact in 1934 and the Sadabad Pact in
1937. The peace policy aimed at Europe and a correct evaluation of the
international conditions made it possible to have Hatay rejoined to
Turkey. Hatay, which had previously been given to the French, was first
given independence and then it was rejoined to Turkey as the result of a
referendum. Meanwhile, the League of Nations, refusing the Turkish
requests, decided that the Mosul and Kirkuk regions should stay under
British control.
Hatay was the final foreign policy problem in which
Atatürk took an interest. Atatürk, with his dynamism, strong intuitions,
accurate assessments of the balances of power and correct evaluations of
domestic and foreign conditions, left behind a state which had heartily
adopted the reforms and modernized institutions, which had taken
significant steps in the direction of the Western model when he passed
away on 10 November 1938.
The İnönü Period and the Difficult Years During the War. İsmet
İnönü was elected as the second President of the Republic following
Atatürk's death. He was the President and the party chairman at the same
time. He led Turkey during the most difficult years of both the world and
Turkey. He tried to overcome the difficulties stemming from the world
economic crisis with a policy of statism during the period when he was the
Prime Minister. He wanted to develop industry by means of the State
Economic Enterprises (SEEs) and took important steps in this
direction.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, İsmet İnönü and
Winston Churchill together in Cairo, Egypt
December 1943
İnönü's greatest success was in keeping Turkey out of the Second World
War. His policy in this regard was based on establishing various balances
at the same time and insisting adamantly on neutrality. When the
Soviet-German Agreement was signed on 23 August 1939, İnönü thought that
this agreement could harm Turkey and signed agreements with France and
Britain on 13 October 1939 and obtained economic aid. Later he signed a
nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union on 25 March 1941. In June 1941, a
few days before Germany attacked the Soviet Union, İnönü signed a
nonaggression pact with Germany. This policy of balances continued
throughout the war. When the war was about to end, Turkey sided with the
USA, Britain and the Soviet Union and declared war against Germany and
Japan and signed the United Nations communiqué dated 24 January 1945.
Turkey, which was officially invited to the San Francisco Conference on 5
March 1945, was among the founding members of the United Nations.
Turkey did not enter the Second World War, but was negatively affected
by the war. Throughout the war a large army was kept alert and ready,
prices increased rapidly, many of the basic food items were rationed, many
items could not be found or were sold on the black market.İnönü who was a
farsighted statesman and politician, not only sensed the winds of freedom
and democracy which had started to blow throughout the Western World after
the Second World War, but also could not remain as a bystander to the
social reactions stemming from the problems of the war. In fact, he first
mentioned the necessity of "liberalizing the regime" in 1945.
Subsequently, he started talking about "the need for an opposition party".
He received with democratic tolerance the birth of the Democrat Party from
within the CHP, its flourishing in 1946 and its coming to power with the
1950 election.
Transition to the Multiparty Period. The Republican People's Party
(CHP), the ruling party, was also influenced by the winds of freedom and
democracy that started to blow throughout the world and especially in
Europe towards the end of the war and after the war. A strong opposition
movement appeared from within the party which complained about the
oppressive management of the party and wanted more freedom and democracy.
The tolerant attitude of President İnönü also encouraged this
movement.
Celal Bayar, Atatürk's last Prime Minister and Refik Koraltan also
joined this opposition movement which was led at the beginning by Fuat
Köprülü and Adnan Menderes. These four deputies of Parliament filed a
famous motion to the Parliamentary Group of the CHP, which was later
referred to as the "Quartet Motion". They wanted to change the party
regulations and some of the laws. Following the refusal of their motion,
Bayar resigned from the CHP and from the Parliament. Menderes, Köprülü,
and Koraltan were expelled from the CHP for not conforming to party
discipline.
Bayar, Menderes, Köprülü and Koraltan established the Democrat Party
(DP) on 7 January 1946. The establishment of a new party was met with
enthusiasm by the people who had become tired of the oppressive policies
of a single party rule. The DP which defended a liberal economic approach
and democracy, developed rapidly in a short period of time. It succeeded
in entering Parliament in the 1946 elections and came to power as a single
power in the 14 May 1950 elections. Thus, the single party period ended in
Turkey and for the first time a change in power was realized with the
votes of the people.
The DP increased its votes even more in the 1954 elections and
strengthened its power. Although it lost votes in the 1957 elections, it
remained in power until 27 May 1960.
The DP brought a noticeable liveliness to the economy and increased the
living standards of people substantially during its 10 years in power. The
economy developed, the earnings of the people increased, many villages
were provided with roads, water and electricity. New areas were taken
under cultivation, agricultural mechanization started, trade was
accelerated and important steps were taken for industrialization. The
period of orienting foreign capital and commercial capital to industry was
started.
Close cooperation with the United States that had been adopted during
the İnönü period acquired new dimensions in the foreign policy of the DP
period. The visit to İstanbul of the US warship Missouri in 1946, the
start of the first military and economic aid from America with the
implementation of the "Truman Doctrine" and the "Marshall Plan"
strengthened the Western-oriented foundations of the Turkish foreign
policy, which had been laid by İnönü. Turkey participated in the Korean
War, became a member of NATO in 1952 and foreign capital investments and
petroleum explorations by foreigners were encouraged during the DP
period.
İsmet İnönü, the Chairman of the Republican People's Party
and
Prime Minister Adnan Menderes at a reception
The DP started to lose the support of the people as of 1954. The main
reasons for this were the end of favorable cycles in the foreign markets
and a slow down in economic growth. In particular, rapidly increasing
inflation upset the financial situation of the fixed income population in
urban areas, the military and civilian bureaucrats. Along with the
dissatisfaction of the people, the criticisms of the opposition and the
media became stronger. In response to the criticism, the ruling party took
measures which indicated that it had lost control and started to resort to
antidemocratic methods. The obstacles which İnönü faced during his tours
of the country, increased the censorship of the press and finally, along
with the establishment of an "Investigation Commission" a widespread
debate began on the regime in Turkey. The university students started
demonstrations. The situation became even more tense with the declaration
of martial law and eventually led to the military intervention of 27 May
1960.
The 27 May Movement and the Interim Period. To remove the DP from
power appeared to be an essential precondition for the solution of the
political and economic problems of Turkey and to save the country and
democracy, especially for many officers who were sympathizers of İnönü.
These officers, of various ranks, who were organized under the title of
the National Unity Committee (MBK) led the action in an orderly manner on
the morning of 27 May 1960. They removed the DP government and seized
power. In the announcement of the revolution, it was stated that the coup
was made to save democracy and to prevent fratricidal quarrels, that it
was not against any individual or class, and that elections would be held
in the shortest period of time and the government would be transferred to
the civilians. The communiqué also stated that Turkey would remain as a
member of NATO and CENTO.
The overthrown President, Prime Minister, ministers, deputies of the
ruling party and the leading administrators of the ruling party, were
taken into custody at the War College. General Cemal Gürsel, the leader of
the coup d'état, assumed the functions of the President, Prime Minister
and the Chief of General Staff. The TGNA was dissolved and the MBK took
over its legislative functions. A new cabinet, composed chiefly of
civilians, was formed on 17 June 1960.
There were, however, differences
of opinion among the MBK members. Some of the members wanted to hold
elections as soon as possible, while others wanted to hold the election
only after radical reforms were made. The members in the second group were
taken into custody on 13 November 1960 and were later appointed to various
posts abroad.
The MBK established in December of the same year a "Constituent
Assembly" responsible for preparing a new constitution and a new election
law. The Constituent Assembly, which was formed by the representatives of
various institutions, began to work on 5 January 1961. The drafts of the
new constitution prepared by academicians, were reviewed in the special
commissions of the Assembly and were submitted for discussion. The draft
to which the Constituent Assembly gave its final shape after long
deliberations, was adopted with a referendum held on 9 July 1961. The MBK
left power to the civilians following the elections held on 15 October
1961. In accordance with the Constitution, the 22 members of the MBK
entered into Parliament as "Natural Senators" and Cemal Gürsel was elected
President.
The administrators of the DP, which had been overthrown on 27 May 1960,
were tried in the Supreme Justice Council, a special court established at
Yassıada by the MBK. The court sentenced 15 administrators of the DP to
death for "violating the Constitution" and sentenced others to various
imprisonment penalties. A total of 12 of the capital punishments were
commuted into life imprisonment by the MBK. However, Adnan Menderes, the
Prime Minister; Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, the Foreign Minister; and Hasan
Polatkan, the Minister of Finance, were executed. All of the others who
were imprisoned were later released through various amnesty initiatives
until 1964.
The Active 1960s and the AP Period. The first general election
which followed the 27 May revolution revealed an interesting picture. The
total of the votes of the Justice Party (AP) and the New Turkey Party (YTP), two parties which claimed to be the continuation of the DP,
obtained more than the votes that the DP had obtained in 1957. As for the
votes of the CHP, these decreased from 41 percent to 37 percent. This
result was an expression of the fact that the political tendencies of the
people had not changed and that in fact, the people had reacted to the
revolution.
The AP, which would thereafter influence the political life in Turkey
in the 1960s and the 1970s, was established on 11 February 1961. The first
chairman of the party was Ret. General Ragıp Gümüşpala.
Following the elections after the revolution, the first government
which was formed under the leadership of İsmet İnönü was a coalition of
CHP and AP. This partnership eased the transformation to a civilian
regime, but did not last long due to the lack of harmony between the
coalition partners.
Süleyman Demirel, the former Director General of the State Water Works,
was elected as the new AP chairman when Ragıp Gümüşpala passed away in
1964. The AP received 53 percent of the votes in the 1965 elections and by
obtaining the majority in the Parliament, came to power. Another
significant characteristic of this election was that the Turkish Labor
Party (TİP), a socialist party, participated in the elections for the
first time and obtained 15 seats in the Parliament.
The 1965-1971 period when AP was in power, turned out to be one of the
most successful periods in Turkey economically, socially and politically.
It was a period of high development rates and low inflation. The
industrialization process accelerated. Priority was given to investments
directed to the rural areas and to energy projects. A more independent
foreign policy was followed. Furthermore, 1965-1971 was also the period of
the greatest freedom in Turkey. This was the period when the laws which
limited free thought and which were considered to be antidemocratic were
applied the least and the number of people arrested in connection with
these laws remained at a minimal level. In this period, the masses took
important steps in forming political organizations. Again pertaining to
this period, the press experienced its greatest years of freedom and
varying points of views were openly written and discussed.
The student demonstrations which started in France in 1968 and spread
all over the world, also affected Turkey towards the end of the 1960s.
These demonstrations, which started as a reaction to the educational
methods and examination system in the universities, later obtained a
political and ideological context.
The 12 March Period and the Transformation in the CHP. The
atmosphere of freedom that had characterized the 1965-1971 period ended
with a communiqué on 12 March 1971. The joint memorandum of the Chief of
General Staff and four Force Commanders, called for the formation of a
nonpartisan government of national consensus in which all the political
parties would participate so that the necessary reforms with a Kemalist
perception could be implemented and so
that terrorism and anarchy could be prevented and the future of the
regime could be secured. Otherwise, the army warned that it would
undertake the administration directly. Under these circumstances, Prime
Minister Demirel handed in his resignation to President Cevdet Sunay the
same day.
The first government of the 12 March period was established by Nihat
Erim who had resigned from the CHP. Significant number of his cabinet
ministers were technicians who were called the "brain team". The first
move of Erim's government, which was supposed to make reforms, was to
declare martial law and take tough measures. Some important articles of
the Constitution were changed. The first Erim government, however, could
not cope with the dissonance within the cabinet and was replaced by the
second Erim government. Because of the various pressures he had been
facing, Prime Minister Erim resigned once again and he was replaced by
Ferit Melen, the Minister of National Defense in Erim's former cabinet.
The Ferit Melen government in turn was replaced by the Naim Talu
government which started a kind of transition process to democracy. In the
presidential elections of 1973, Fahri Korutürk, the joint candidate of the
AP and CHP became President whereas Faruk Gürler, the candidate of the 12
March period, lost.
Meanwhile, interesting developments had been occurring within the CHP
since 1969. The Secretary General Bülent Ecevit, and his colleagues
resigned from membership in the Central Executive Board, ostensibly
because they disagreed with İsmet İnönü, the Chairman, concerning the
party policy to be followed against the 12 March regime. This team carried
out a fundamental struggle within the party during the 12 March period. In
the general congress of the party, which was held in 1972, Ecevit and his
colleagues attained the absolute majority of the seats on the Central
Executive Board, whereupon, İnönü resigned from the Chairmanship, from the
Parliament and from the party membership. In the special party congress
which was held immediately, Ecevit was elected as the party chairman. A
new period started for the CHP.
The Ecevit Administrations and the Nationalist Front Periods. In
the 1973 general elections, which legally put an end to the 12 March
period, no party could obtain an absolute majority at the Parliament and
so a new period of coalitions commenced. Dissonances, votes of no
confidence and deputy transfers followed one after another.
Bülent Ecevit, the Chairman of the
Republican People's Party
and his wife
Rahşan
Ecevit
at an election campaign meeting
The CHP attained the majority of the votes in the 1973 elections.
Ecevit, the chairman of the CHP, established a coalition government with
the National Salvation Party (MSP) which reflected Islamic trends.
Although this interesting reconciliation created some positive outcomes,
the shock waves of the global oil crisis had adverse effects on Turkey.
Meanwhile, a coup carried out by the supporters of ENOSIS (Union with
Greece) against the Makarios administration on Cyprus during June 1974
forced Turkey to intervene militarily by exerting her rights as a
guarantor state accorded to her by the Cyprus Constitution of 1960. The
Cyprus problem had important economic and political repercussions. The
negative attitude of the West towards Turkey, an economic embargo applied
on Turkey by the US and the expenses of the Cyprus Operation created
significant problems in Turkey. When the CHP and MSP disagreed on foreign
policy following the Cyprus Peace Operation, the coalition came to an end.
Sadi Irmak, a senator, was assigned by President Korutürk to form a new
government; but he could not obtain a vote of confidence.
In the meantime, the Democratic Party which was established by the
party members who had left, or were expelled from the AP, started to
disintegrate in 1971. The AP which increased its number of deputies,
obtained the majority bringing together the MSP, Nationalist Movement
Party (MHP) and the Republican Confidence
Party (CGP). Demirel who was assigned to form the new government,
managed to form a coalition which was called the "Nationalist Front" (MC).
It would remain in power until the general elections in 1977.
The MC period continued after the general elections in 1977. Demirel
established the Second MC government due to the fact that no party could
obtain an absolute majority. "The Second MC", which remained in power
until January 1978, could cope neither with the economic, nor with the
foreign policy problems and its political profile deteriorated because of
escalating terrorism. Turkey had a foreign currency problem, no imports
could be made. The government tried to escape from this problem by means
of short term credits with high interests.
The crisis in Turkey gained a new dimension when 11 AP deputies
resigned from the party in December 1977. The second MC government led by
Demirel was overthrown. Ecevit, the CHP leader, formed the new government
with the supports of the DP and CGP and the eleven deputies who had
resigned from the AP. In this period the economic situation, however,
deteriorated even more. Shortages of some basic food items, oil and LPG
appeared and black markets emerged. Prime Minister Ecevit resigned when
the CHP suffered a heavy defeat in the elections to renew one third of the
Senate in 1979. This time, Demirel formed an AP minority government with
the external support of the MSP and MHP on 25 November 1979. In late
December 1979, the Chief of General Staff and Force Commanders sent a
letter to President Korutürk warning about the adverse effects of
political instability. However, both the AP and the opposition parties
announced that they were not a party to the warnings in the letter. The 24
January Decrees of the Demirel government to improve the economy, yielded
positive results in the short-term, but the government could not cope with
anarchy and terrorism, and martial law was declared in many provinces. No
matter what, a new president could not be elected after Korutürk’s term of
office had expired in the first months of 1980.
The 12 September Regime (1980-1983). Military intervention occurred
when the army seized the power on 12 September 1980 through the chain of
order and command. The National Security Council (MGK), which was composed
of Kenan Evren, the Chief of the General Staff, and the Force Commanders,
dissolved the Parliament and the Government. Martial law was declared all
over the country. The chairmen of the AP, CHP, MHP and MSP were taken into
custody. The MGK which vested itself with the legislative and executive
powers, appointed Kenan Evren, the Chairman of the Council, as the Head of
State. A new government was formed by Admiral Bülend Ulusu. Turgut Özal,
the Undersecretary of the Prime Ministry of the final AP government and
the architect of the 24 January decisions, was appointed as the Deputy
Prime Minister Responsible for the Economy.
The economic stability policies which had been started by the Demirel
government were continued in this period. The most significant development
in foreign policy was the approval by the MGK of "the Rogers Plan", named
after the NATO Supreme Commander, permitting Greece to return to the
military wing of NATO, that was contrary to the policy that had been
followed by Turkey for a long period of time.
It was decided in June 1981 to form a new "Constituent Assembly" which
would include the MGK members and the Advisory Assembly (DM) to prepare a
new constitution. On the day that the members of the Advisory Assembly
were announced, all the political parties which had earlier been banned,
were closed by the MGK and their properties were confiscated. The new
constitution prepared by the Constitutional Commission of the DM was
submitted to a public referendum on 7 November 1982 and was approved by a
majority vote of 91.2 percent. After the approval of the new Constitution,
Kenan Evren acquired the title of "President". The Political Parties Law
went into effect on 24 April 1983 and political activities were gradually
permitted for the establishment of new political parties.
At the central right wing, the Nationalist Democracy Party
(MDP), led
by Ret. General Turgut Sunalp was established. The MDP defined itself as
the continuation of the spirit and philosophy of 12 September. The second
initiative, which was not quite welcomed by the MGK, came from Turgut Özal
who had resigned from the Ulusu government in 1982. He established the
Motherland Party (ANAP) which promised to make economic reforms,
liberalize the economy and implement free market policies. The third was
the Populist Party (HP), which was aimed to be a left of center party. Its
chairman was Necdet Calp, a former Undersecretary of the Prime Ministry in
the Bülend Ulusu government. Along with these parties, the True Path Party
(DYP), which was known to be a continuation of the AP, and the Social
Democracy Party (SODEP), led by Erdal İnönü, the son of İsmet İnönü, were
established. However, the MGK investigated the founding members of the new
parties and vetoed a significant number of them. The lists of the SODEP
and DYP were vetoed the most. In fact, they were practically vetoed out of
the general election so that only ANAP, MDP and HP could participate in
the elections on 6 November 1983. Turgut Özal's ANAP won the election
getting 45.1 percent of the votes and 53 percent of the seats in the
Parliament. The function of the MGK ended and the four members of the MGK
became members of the Presidential Council when the Turkish Grand National
Assembly (TGNA) convened on 24 November 1983. The first ANAP Government
was formed on 13 December 1983 under the chairmanship of Turgut
Özal.
The First and Second Özal Governments. ANAP, which attained the
majority in the Parliament and came to power in 1983 under the leadership
of Turgut Özal, also succeeded in remaining in power after the 1987
elections.
The most significant characteristics of the Özal period were
the structural changes in the economy realized by a series of decisive and
courageous reforms. These liberal structural reforms were referred to by
Özal, as the "Great Transformation". The milestones during Özal's tenure
were fundamental changes in the Law for the Protection of the Value of
Turkish Currency and the Foreign Currency Exchange system, imports and
exports were liberalized and a transition to a "Free Exchange Rate" in the
foreign currency system. The "import substitution" economic model was
replaced by an economic policy that gave "priority to exports". State
subsidies were decreased and production was oriented at exports. Value
Added Tax was put into effect to increase state revenues. Revenue Sharing
Bonds were issued for sale, the Mass Housing and Privatization
Administrations were established and free trade zones were formed. Thus,
economic growth accelerated and the chronic foreign currency deficit
problem was solved.
The Council of Ministers of the 57th Government is in session
The most important development in foreign policy was the relative
improvement observed in Turkey's relations with the European countries. As
a matter of fact, the Advisory Assembly of the Council of Europe which had
suspended its relations with Turkey, accepted the participation of Turkish
parliamentarians in this Assembly in May 1984. On the other hand, Turkey,
which followed a policy of neutrality during the Iran-Iraq War that lasted
for years, positively developed her trade with both countries.
Improvements continued in US relations, which had been revived after
permission was given to Greece to return to the military wing of NATO. In
this period, Turkey obtained great increases in exports and tourism
revenues due to the intensive trade relations established especially with
the Middle Eastern and European countries.
Important developments also occurred in domestic politics during the
First Özal Government. HP and SODEP were united under the name of the
Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP). The team of Bülent Ecevit, the
former Chairman of the CHP, who had been banned from politics, established
the Democratic Left Party (DSP). Political bans were removed in a
referendum held on 6 September 1986. Thereafter, Bülent Ecevit became the
Chairman of the DSP, Süleyman Demirel became the Chairman of the DYP,
Alparslan Türkeş became the Chairman of the Nationalist Working Party
(MÇP) and Necmettin Erbakan became the Chairman of the Welfare Party (RP).
In the early general elections held in 1987, ANAP came to power with 36
percent of the votes and 65 percent of the seats in the Parliament. The
SHP ranked second with 24.75 percent of the votes and the DYP obtained
19.15 percent of the votes. The other parties could not win seats in the
Parliament because they could not pass the 10 percent vote barrier. When
Kenan Evren's term in office expired, Turgut Özal was elected President on
9 November 1989. He appointed Yıldırım Akbulut as the Prime Minister.
Akbulut was later elected the new chairman of the ANAP in the party's
Special General Congress that convened in November 1989.
The Gulf Crisis. President Turgut Özal provided for Turkey's
emergence in the forefront in the international arena and an active role
with the Western allies through his personal diplomatic initiatives during
the Gulf Crisis that started with the occupation of Kuwait by Iraq in
August 1990. Turkey was one of the first countries which implemented the
economic embargo imposed on Iraq by the UN Security Council.
The Transformation in the ANAP and the Period of Coalitions. A new
government was formed after Mesut Yılmaz was elected as the ANAP party
chairman replacing Yıldırım Akbulut in June 1991. The government formed by
Yılmaz decided to hold early elections which were held on 21 October 1991.
The DYP, which focused on democratization and lowering the rate of
inflation in its election campaign, emerged as the leading party with
27.03 percent of the votes. The DYP was followed by ANAP, SHP, RP and DSP.
However, no party could obtain a majority of the seats at the TGNA. A
DYP-SHP coalition was formed by Süleyman Demirel on 20 November 1991. This
government succeeded to a certain extent in reviving economic growth and
increasing the real income of the wage earners.
Multi-dimensional
relations were established with various initiatives of both President
Turgut Özal and the government, with the Central Asian Republics which had
gained independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Thus, new horizons were opened for Turkey to become a "regional state".
The Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), including the entire Black Sea
region, envisages economic, commercial and eventually political cooperation among
the countries of the Black Sea region. It was established in June 1992 and
has increased the importance of Turkey in this region. Furthermore, Turkey
has also played an active role in the peace operations in Bosnia
Herzegovina and Somalia.
Süleyman Demirel was elected President when
President Turgut Özal passed away on 17 April 1993. Tansu Çiller replaced
Demirel as the Chairman of the DYP in the special general assembly held on
13 June 1993. The new DYP-SHP Coalition Government formed by Tansu Çiller,
Turkey's first female Prime Minister, stayed in power from 25 June 1993
until the elections on 25 December 1995.
The Welfare Party became the leading party with 21 percent of the votes
in the December 1995 elections. An ANAP-DYP Coalition Government was
formed on 5 March 1996, with Mesut Yılmaz as the Prime Minister and this
coalition was called the "Anayol" (Main Path). This government lasted for
four months. When the DYP announced that it would support a motion filed
by the RP against the government, Prime Minister Mesut Yılmaz submitted
his resignation to President Süleyman Demirel on 6 June 1996. Demirel
appointed Necmettin Erbakan, the RP Chairman, to form the new government.
Erbakan formed the RP-DYP coalition which was called the "Refahyol"
(Welfare-Path). Tansu Çiller, the DYP Chairperson, participated in this
government as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and as Deputy Prime
Minister. The intensified debates on fundamentalism in this period, caused
social and political tension. A new process commenced when the National
Security Council issued a warning in its meeting on 28 February 1997 that
the danger of fundamentalism was increasing. During this tense period,
Prime Minister Erbakan resigned on 18 June 1997 in order to transfer the
prime ministry to Tansu Çiller, his coalition partner. However, President
Süleyman Demirel charged Mesut Yılmaz, the ANAP Chairman, rather than
Tansu Çiller, with forming the new government on 19 June 1997. President
Demirel approved the ANAP-DSP-DTP Coalition Government formed by Yılmaz,
which is called the "Anasol-D" by the public. During the period of
Anasol-D which obtained a vote of confidence on 12 July 1997, an early
election decision was taken with the overwhelming majority at the TGNA and
a decision was taken for the general and local elections to be held
together on 18 April 1999. The government which ruled for 17 months was
removed from power by an interpellation on 25 November 1998. As the
initiatives of Bülent Ecevit charged with forming the government were of
no avail, the duty was taken over by Yalım Erez, independent deputy from
the Province of Muğla and minister of Industry. While Erez's initiatives
were still going on, the DYP Chairperson Tansu Çiller's announcement that
she will support a minority government under the chairmanship of Bülent
Ecevit, made possible a formula to win a vote of confidence. Likewise,
Bülent Ecevit's minority government wining a vote of confidence on 17
January 1999, worked until the election on April the 18th. As the result
of election while DSP, MHP, FP, DYP and ANAP had a right to be represented
in the Parliament, CHP could not exceed the general barrage of 10 percent
and could not enter the Parliament. While DSP increased its votes at a
high rate, MHP was the second party to get the greatest number of votes.
The center-right parties such as ANAP and DYP suffered great loses of
votes. Also FP (Virtue Party), founded with the inclusion of majority of
the independent deputies of RP after it was abolished, could not maintain
its percentage of votes.
The DSP-MHP-ANAP coalition government was formed on 28 May 1999, under
the chairmanship of Bülent Ecevit, the chairman of the leading party from
the election. The 57th Government, formed as government of reconciliation
and advance, handling, as soon as it took office, such important issues as
the civilianization of the State Security Courts, the Act of Banking, the
Constitutional amendment envisaging "International Arbitration" and the
Social Security Reform, has adopted new laws. The government which has
achieved a noteworthy success in both application of the economic
stability program and curbing inflation within the context of the
harmonization process with EU that was initiated with the Helsinki Summit
of 1999, has also concluded the presidential elections with a remarkable
conciliatory understanding. Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the President of the
Constitutional Court, who was unanimously nominated by leaders of the five
political parties represented in the parliament, took over the presidency
from Süleyman Demirel whose term in office expired on 16 May 2000. He was
elected the 10th president of the Republic of Turkey with 330 votes in the
third round ballot.
First a Crisis, then
Stability. In February 2001, the economy, which for some time had been
declining, suddenly plunged. The stock exchange index experienced a rapid
fall. The US dollar appreciated 100% in relation to the Turkish Lira.
Exchange rates fluctuated. Inflation soared, production decreased,
businesses closed down. The Turkish Republic was faced with the most
severe crisis in its history. The government appointed Kemal Derviş,
Vice-President of the World Bank, as the State Minister Responsible for
the Economy. The President of the Central Bank and the Undersecretary of
the Treasury were replaced. Large oans came from the IMF and the World
Bank and a reform program began. The Bank Law was rewrilten. Parliament
amended several articles of the Constitution and important steps were
taken to ensure harmonization with the European Union. The death penalty
was abolished except for crimes committed during times of war and terror.
The TGNA decided to hold
early general elections on November 3, 2002 with the recommendations of
the DSP, MHP and ANAP. In the elections, only AKP (34.28%) and CHP
(19.39%) were able win seats in the Parliament.
AKP won 363 of the 550 seats and thus became the ruling party and CHP
became the main opposition. DSP, MHP and ANAP, the former coalition
partners, as well as DYP could not win enough votes to pass the %10
threshold and thus failed to be represented in parliament.
The
Council of Ministers in session, 2003
After the
elections, Abdullah Gül, the Kayseri Deputy of the AKP, established the 58th
government. In this period, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Chairman of the AKP,
established relations with the heads of state in Europe and took initiatives
to secure Turkey’s acceptance into the EU. He met with officials from 14
nations in Europe. The most important political events of this period were the
decision at the EU Copenhagen Summit that Turkey’s full membership to the EU
would be discussed in December 2004; the refusal of the TGNA to send troops to
Iraq.
After the
restrictions placed upon AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were lifted,
he was elected as a deputy from Siirt in the by-elections. After taking over
as prime minister he established the 59th government.
Source: "Turkey
2003"
Rebublic of Turkey
Directorate General of Press &
Information
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