History

Politics

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 society, but as a party of all the people, and these reforms were adopted by the people. But there was certain opposition in this party that established the state. The opponents of the reforms, and those who thought that the reforms was 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, Kazim Karabekir and Ali Fuat Cebesoy, resigned from the CHP and established the Progressive Republican Party on November 17, 1924. Kazim Karabekir was elected chairman of this first opposition party. However, because it was the only opposition party, those who were against the reforms and secularism began to congregate within the party. Meanwhile, the reactionary Sheik Said rebellion broke out in Southeastern Anatolia and the government closed down the Progressive Republican Party on June 3, 1925.

Atatürk's greatest aim was to form a multi-party democracy. He desired that there be an opposition. Thus, the former Prime Minister Fethi Okyar, established the Free Republican Party. Under the leadership of Fethi Okyar, who was known for his opposition to Ismet Inönü, the party grew at an unexpectedly rapid pace. The reactionary powers also wanted to use the new party in line with their own interests. Especially, due to the unfortunate events which occurred during Fethi Okyar's trip to Izmir, the party dissolved on November 17, 1930.

The administration of the Republic adopted a model based on private enterprise to develop the backward economy it had inherited, but in time it was forced to adopt statism to an increasing degree due to the lack of capital in the private sector. Thus, statism became a characteristic of the first year of the Republic.

During the early years of the Republic, the foreign policy which was based on the borders of the National Pact and peace became the unchanging foreign policy of the state. As the result of successful diplomacy, the Montreux Agreement was signed in 1936, ensuring that the Istanbul and the Dardanelles (Çanakkale) Straits were included in the national defense system. Friendship policies to be pursued with regard to all the neighboring countries were ensured by the Balkan Pact in 1934 and the Sadabad Pact in 1937.

Hatay was the final foreign policy problem in which Atatrk took an interest. Atatürk, with his dynamism, strong intuition, accurate assessments of the balances of power and correct evaluations of domestic and foreign conditions, at his untimely death on November 10, 1938 left behind a state which had heartily adopted the reforms and modernized institutions, had taken significant steps in the direction of the Western model and solved the Hatay problem.

The Inönü Period and the Difficult Years During the War
Ismet Inönü was elected the second President of the Republic of Turkey following Atatürk's death. He had been in office less than a year when he was faced with the problems brought on by the Second World War. With great perseverance he was able to keep Turkey out of the war. He was able to establish certain balances and ensure the position of the country in many respects. When the Soviet-German Agreement was signed on August 23, 1939, Inönü thought that this agreement could harm Turkey and signed agreements with France and Britain on October 13, 1939 and obtained economic aid. Later he signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union on March 25, 1941. A few days before the Germans attacked the Soviet Union, Inönü signed a non-aggression agreement with Germany . This policy of balances continued through 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 January 24, 1945. Turkey , which was officially invited to the San Francisco Conference on March 5, 1945, was among the founding members of the United Nations.

Transition to the Multi-party Period
In 1945, while the war was continuing President Inönü discussed the liberalization of the regime, and the necessity of an opposition party. The Republican People's Party (CHP), the ruling party, was also influenced by the principles of freedom and democracy evident throughout the world after the war, especially in Europe . A strong opposition movement appeared within the party, the members of which desired more freedom and democracy.

Celal Bayar, Refik Koraltan, Fuat Köprülü and Adnan Menderes were four deputies of Parliament who tabled a historic motion to the CHP Parliamentary Group, which was later referred to as the "Quartet Motion". They wanted to change party regulations and some of the laws. Following the refusal of their motion, Bayar resigned from the CHP and from Parliament. Menderes , Köprülü, and Koraltan were expelled from the CHP for not conforming to party discipline. Those who signed the Quartet Motion announced the founding of the Democrat Party (DP) on January 7, 1946. 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 party in the May 14, 1950 elections. 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 May 27, 1960.

The DP brought a noticeable liveliness to the economy and increased the living standards of people substantially. There was large-scale construction activity during the 10 years the party was in power. The economy developed, the earnings of the people increased, and many villages were provided with roads, water and electricity. New areas were taken under cultivation, agricultural mechanization began, trade increased and important steps were taken in industrialization. Foreign and commercial capital was channeled to industry in this period.

Close cooperation with the United States that began during the period CHP was in power added new dimensions to the foreign policy of the DP period. The visit to Istanbul of the US warship Missouri in 1946, the beginning of the first military and economic aid programs from America by the implementation of the "Truman Doctrine" and the "Marshall Plan" strengthened the western oriented foundations of Turkish foreign policy, which had been laid down by Inönü. Turkey participated in the Korean War, and became a member of NATO in 1952.
The DP started losing the support of the people as of 1954. The main reasons for this were the end of favorable cycles in the foreign markets and the slowness of economic growth. Rapidly increasing inflation upset the financial situation of the fixed income population and the military and civilian bureaucrats in the urban areas. Along with the dissatisfaction of the people, the criticism of the opposition and the media became harsher. In response to the criticism, the ruling party took stringent measures. The obstacles which Inönü, the leader of the main opposition party faced increased censorship of the press during his tours of the country and finally led to the establishment of an "Investigation Commission" which initiated an action, resulting in a widespread debate about the regime in Turkey . University students started demonstrating. The situation became even tenser with the declaration of martial law.

The 27th of May Movement and the Interim Period
A group of officers organized at levels in the Armed Forces, in an orderly manner on the morning of the 27th of May 1960, overthrew the DP government and seized power. In the announcement of the first revolution, it was stated that the coup was not directed at any individual or class, and that NATO and CENTO principles were still accepted. It was also stated that elections would be held in the shortest time possible and that the government would be transferred to the civilians. A committee was formed (the MBK) by the revolutionary officers. General Cemal Gürsel, the commander of the Land Forces, assumed the functions of President, Prime Minister and Chief of the General Staff. The TGNA was dissolved and the MBK assumed its legislative functions. A new cabinet, composed chiefly of civilians, was formed on June 17, 1960.

There were, however, differences of opinion among MBK members. Some of the members wanted to hold elections as soon as possible, while others wanted to hold elections only after radical reforms had been made. The members in the latter group were taken into custody on November 13, 1960 and were later appointed to various posts abroad.

The Constituent Assembly, which was formed by the representatives of various institutions, began to work on January 5, 1961. The draft to which the Constituent Assembly gave its final shape was adopted by a referendum held on the 9th of July 1961. The most important difference in the 1961 Constitution was that Parliament was divided into two branches: the national assembly and the republican senate. The MBK designated power to the civilians following the elections held on October 15, 1961. In accordance with the Constitution, the 22 members of the MBK entered Parliament as "Natural Senators" and Cemal Gürsel was elected President.

The deposed President, Prime Minister, Cabinet, deputies and some bureaucrats were taken into custody at the Military Academy on the 27th of May 1960, and were later sent to Yassiada. A special court referred to as the Supreme Justice Council was formed. The court sentenced 15 administrators of the DP to death for "violating the Constitution" and sentenced others to various prison terms. A total of 12 of the capital punishment sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by the MBK. However Adnan Menderes, the Prime Minister; Fatin Rüstü Zorlu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Hasan Polatkan, the Minister of Finance, were executed on 16-17 September 1961 on Imrali Island . All of the others who were imprisoned were later released due to various amnesty initiatives taken until 1964.

The Active Years and the AP Period
After the 1960 events, the first elections were held on the 14th of October 1961, and the Justice Party (AP), which was considered the continuation of the DP under the leadership of retired General Ragip Gümüspala and the New Turkey Party under the leadership of Ekrem Alican who had served as Minister of Finance in the former government, received more votes than the DP had in 1957. CHP votes decreased from 41% to 37%. This result was the expression of the fact that the political tendencies of the people had not changed and on the contrary, the people had reacted to the revolution.

Following the elections after the revolution, the first government which was formed under the leadership of Ismet Inönü 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. This was followed by the second and third coalitions headed by Inönü and the coalition government headed by Suat Hayri Ürgüplü.

Süleyman Demirel, the former Director General of the State Water Works, was elected the new AP chairman upon the death of Ragip Gümüspala in 1964. The AP received 53% of the votes in the 1965 elections and by obtaining the majority in Parliament, came to power. Another significant characteristic of this election was that the Turkish Labor Party (TIP), a socialist party, participated in the elections for the first time and obtained 15 seats in Parliament.

The 1965-1971 period during which the AP was in power, turned out to be one of the most economically, socially and politically successful periods in Turkey. It was a period of rapid high development and low inflation. The industrialization process accelerated. Priority was given to investments aimed at rural areas and energy projects. It was a 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. During this period, the masses took important steps in forming political organizations. The press experienced its greatest years of freedom and varying points of views were openly written and discussed.

The 12th of March and the Interim Regime
The student demonstrations which started in France in 1968 and spread all over the world, also affected Turkey towards the end of the 1960s. The innocent demands of the students later assumed a political and ideological context and violence resulted. The atmosphere of freedom that had characterized the 1965-1971 period ended with a memorandum on March 12, 1971.

The joint memorandum of the Chief of the General Staff and four Force Commanders, called for the formation of a nonpartisan government of national consensus in which all political parties were to participate so that the necessary reforms with a Kemalist perception could be implemented and terrorism and anarchy would be prevented and the future of the regime could be secured. Otherwise, the army warned that they would undertake the administration directly. Under the circumstances, Prime Minister Demirel handed in his resignation to President Cevdet Sunay the same day.

The first government of the 12th of March period was established by Prof. Nihat Erim who had resigned from the CHP. A significant number of his cabinet ministers were technocrats who were called the "brain team." The first move of Erim's government, which was supposed to be a nonpartisan government that would undertake reforms, was to declare martial law and take strict measures. Some important articles of the Constitution were changed and freedoms were restricted. The first Erim government, however, could not cope with the dissonance within the cabinet and rising terror and was replaced by the second Erim government. Erim's second attempt was also not successful. He was assassinated by terrorists before the 12th of September 1980 in front of his house in Dragos. Ferit Melen, who had served as Minister of Finance in the Nihat Erim government, formed the new government. The Ferit Melen government in turn was replaced by the Naim Talu government which began a kind of transition process to democracy. In the presidential elections of 1973, Fahri Korutürk, the joint candidate of the AP and CHP became the President whereas Faruk Gürler, the candidate of the advocates of the 12th of March period, lost.

Historical Transformation in the CHP
Meanwhile, the development which had started in the CHP since 1969 took on interesting dimensions after the 12th of March period. The General Secretary Bülent Ecevit and his associates resigned from their memberships in the Central Administration Council. This team carried out an active struggle within the party during the 12th of March regime period. At the general congress of the party, which was held in 1972, Ecevit and his associates attained the absolute majority of seats on the Central Executive Board, whereupon, Inönü resigned from the chairmanship from Parliament and from party membership. Ecevit was elected party chairman at the party congress which was held immediately.

The Ecevit Administrations and the Nationalist Front Periods
In the 1973 general elections, which legally put an end to the 12th of March period, no party could obtain an absolute majority in Parliament and so a new period of coalitions commenced like the one in 1961. Many governments were formed. After long discussions and bargains, CHP which had obtained the highest number of votes in the election formed a coalition government with the National Welfare Party (MSP) which reflected Islamic tendencies in its ideas. Even though this interesting coalition attained positive results, the developments in the world affected Turkey and thus the government. After the world oil crises, the Cyprus conflict erupted. It would take years for Turkey to resolve this issue. Meanwhile, a coup carried out by the supporters of ENOSIS (Union with Greece ) under the leadership of Nikos Sampson, against the Makarios administration in Cyprus in June 1974 forced Turkey to intervene with military forces by exerting her rights as a guarantor state accorded to her by the Cyprus Constitution of 1960. This intervention had important economic and political repercussions. The negative attitude of the west towards Turkey , an economic embargo imposed on Turkey by the US and the expenses incurred as a result of the Cyprus Peace Operation created significant economic 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 from the Turkish Grand National Assembly.

During this period the DP, which was formed by the deputies who had left or been asked to resign from the AP after they had not given a vote of confidence to their own government in the 1969 elections, was also dissipating. The AP which increased its number of deputies obtained the majority bringing together the MSP, MHP (Nationalist Movement Party) and CGP (the Republican Confidence Party). Demirel who was assigned the task of forming the new government, managed to form a coalition which was called the "Nationalist Front" (MC) and would remain in power until the general elections in 1977.

Demirel established the Second MC government in which the CGP was not included, due to the fact that no party could obtain an absolute majority. This government, which remained in power until January 1978, could cope with neither the economic, nor the foreign policy problems and escalating terrorism. The economic depression which had started in 1974 was growing steadily. Foreign exchange transfers could not be undertaken and imports had ceased. The government had tried to overcome the crisis with short-term, high interest loans. In December 1977 CHP, with the 11 deputies who had resigned from AP and the support of DP and CGP deputies, caused the downfall of the second MC government under the leadership of Demirel. This event led to a further crisis for Turkey . Ecevit, the CHP leader, formed the new government with the support of the DP and CGP and the 11 deputies who had resigned from the AP. However, during this period the economic situation deteriorated even more. There were shortages of some basic food items, oil and LPG and black markets emerged. Terror incidents rose. Prime Minister Ecevit resigned when the CHP suffered a crushing defeat in the elections in 1979. This time, Demirel formed an AP minority government with the external support of the MSP and MHP on November 25, 1979. In late December 1979, the Chief of the General Staff and Force Commanders sent a letter to President Korutürk warning the nation about the adverse effects of political instability. However, both the AP and the opposition parties announced that they were not party to the warnings in the letter. The January 24th 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. On the other hand, a new president could not be elected after Korutürk's term of office had expired in the first months of 1980.

The September 12th Regime (1980-1983)
Turkey woke up in the morning to witness a new military intervention which had occurred on September 12, 1980, when the army seized control of the state by way of a 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 Parliament and the Government and 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 legislative and executive powers, appointed Kenan Evren, the Chairman of the Council, as the Head of State. A new government was formed by retired Vice-Admiral Bülend Ulusu.
Turgut Özal, the Undersecretary of the Prime Ministry of the final AP government and the architect of the 24th of January decisions, was appointed Deputy Prime Minister Responsible for the Economy.

The economic stability policies which had been initiated by the Demirel government were continued during 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. This permitted Greece to return to the military wing of NATO, and was contrary to the policy that had been followed by Turkey for a long period of time.

In June 1981, it was decided that a new "Constituent Assembly" be established, which would include the MGK members and the Advisory Assembly (DM) who would 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 November 7, 1982 and was approved by a majority vote of 91.2%. After the approval of the new Constitution, Kenan Evren was made President. The Political Parties Law went into effect on April 24, 1983 and political activities for the establishment of new political parties were gradually permitted.

At the central right wing, the Nationalist Democracy Party (MDP), led by retired General Turgut Sunalp, the Motherland Party (ANAP) led by Turgut Özal who had resigned from the Ulusu government in 1982 and the Populist Party (HP) led by Necdet Calp were founded. Along with these parties, the True Path Party (DYP), which was known to be the continuation of the AP, and the Social Democratic Party (SODEP), led by Erdal Inönü, the son of Ismet Inönü, were established. The parties were unable to enter the general elections because most of their founding members were barred by the MGK, and thus were unable to attain the required number of members at that specified time. Only ANAP, MDP and HP could participate in the elections on November 6, 1983. Turgut Özal's ANAP won the election with 45.1% of the votes. The function of the MGK ended when the Turkish Grand Nation Assembly (TGNA) convened on November 24, 1983. The four members of the MGK became members of the Presidential Council. The terms of the council members ended when the President completed his term of office.

The First and Second Özal Governments
ANAP, which came to power in the November 6, 1983 elections, succeeded in remaining in power after the 1987 elections. The most significant characteristics of the Özal period were in Özal's words: "The Great Transformation". The economy changed its form and direction because of consistent and courageous reforms. The Law for the Protection of the Value of the Turkish Currency and the Foreign Currency Exchange system were changed radically, imports and exports were liberalized and a transition to a "free exchange rate" in the foreign currency system was implemented. The "import substitution" economic model was replaced by an economic policy that gave "priority to exports". State subsidies were decreased and production was oriented towards exports. The 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 was accelerated and the chronic foreign currency deficit problem was solved.

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. Improvements continued in US relations, which had been revived after permission was given to Greece to return to the military wing of NATO. On the other hand, Turkey , which followed a policy of neutrality during the Iran-Iraq War that lasted for years, developed her trade with both countries. In this period, there were great increases in exports and tourism revenues of the country due to intensive trade relations established with Middle Eastern and European countries.

Important developments also occurred in domestic politics during the First Özal Government. The most important one was the unification of the HP and the SODEP uniting under the name of the Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP). Rah.an Ecevit, the wife of Bülent Ecevit, the former Chairman of the CHP, who had been banned from politics, established the Democratic Left Party (DSP). Political bans were lifted in a referendum held on September 6, 1986. Thereafter, Bülent Ecevit became the Chairman of the DSP, Süleyman Demirel became the Chairman of the DYP, Alparslan Türkes 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 The SHP ranked second with 24.75% of the votes and the DYP obtained 19.15% of the votes. When Kenan Evren's term in office expired, Turgut Özal was elected President on November 9, 1989. He appointed Yildirim Akbulut 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
The invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi forces under the command of Saddam Hussain in August 1990 led to the Gulf Crisis. President Turgut Özal provided for Turkey 's emergence to the forefront of the international arena, and Turkey played an active role with the western allies through his personal diplomatic initiatives during this crisis. Turkey was one of the first countries, which implemented the economic embargo imposed on Iraq by the UN Security Council. The pipeline carrying Iraqi oil to Yumurtalik was closed. Permission was given for use of NATO bases in Turkey for airborne operations. In the spring of 1991 a million refugees, mostly Kurds, migrated to Turkey . After the allies had declared the Iraqi lands to the north of the 36th parallel a "security zone", most of the refugees returned to their homelands.

The Transformation in the ANAP and the Period of Coalitions
A new government was formed after Mesut Yilmaz was elected as the ANAP party chairman replacing Yildirim Akbulut in June 1991. The government formed by Yilmaz decided to hold early elections, which were held on October 21, 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% of the votes. It was followed by the ANAP, SHP, RP and the DSP. A DYP-SHP coalition government was formed by Süleyman Demirel on November 2, 1991. This government succeeded to a certain extent in reviving economic growth and increasing the income of wage earners.

Multi-dimensional relations were established by 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 up to Turkey . The Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) including the entire Black Sea Region, envisaged 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 also played an active role in the peace operations in Bosnia Herzegovina and Somalia .

Süleyman Demirel was elected President upon the sudden death of President Turgut Özal which occurred on the 17th of April 1993. His untimely demise had a serious impact on politics. Tansu Çiller replaced Demirel as Chairman of the DYP in the special general assembly held on June 13, 1993. The new DYPSHP Coalition Government formed by Tansu Çiller , Turkey 's first female Prime Minister, remained in power from June 25, 1993 until elections were held on December 25, 1995.

Surprisingly, the Welfare Party became the leading party with 21% of the votes in the December 1995 elections. The central right wing party ANAP and DYP did not allow the RP to come to power. An ANAP-DYP Coalition Government was formed on March 5 1996, with Mesut Yilmaz as Prime Minister. This coalition was called the "Anayol" (Main Path) Coalition. This government lasted for four months. When DYP announced that it would support a motion tabled by the RP against the government, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz submitted his resignation to President Süleyman Demirel on June 6, 1996. Demirel gave the mandate to Necmettin Erbakan, the RP Chairman, to form the new government. Erbakan formed the RP-DYP coalition which was called the "Refahyol" (Welfare Path) Coalition. Tansu Çiller, the DYP Chairperson, participated in this government as Minister of Foreign Affairs and as Deputy Prime Minister. The debates on fundamentalism, which intensified during this period, resulted in social and political tension. A new process began when the National Security Council issued a warning in its meeting on February 28, 1997, to the effect that the danger of fundamentalism was increasing. During this tense period, Prime Minister Erbakan resigned on June 18, 1997 in order to transfer the prime ministry to Tansu Çiller, his coalition partner. However, President Süleyman Demirel gave the mandate to Mesut Yilmaz, the ANAP Chairman, rather than to Tansu Çiller, to form the new government on June 19, 1997. The ANAP-DSP-DTP (Democratic Turkey Party) Coalition Government formed by Yilmaz, received a vote of confidence from the TGNA on July 12, 1997 and was called the "Anasol-D" by the public. During the Anasol-D government, it was decided that general and local elections should be held together on April 18, 1999. The government which was in power for 17 months fell after a motion was tabled by the opposition, on November 25, 1998. Since the initiatives of Bülent Ecevit, who was given the mandate to form the government, were of no avail, the duty was handed over to Yalim Erez, independent deputy from the Province of Mugla and the Minister of Industry. While Erez's initiatives were still going on, the DYP Chairperson Tansu Çiller's announcement that she would support a minority government under the chairmanship of Bülent Ecevit, made possible a formula that would attain a vote of confidence. Bülent Ecevit's minority government received a vote of confidence on January 17, 1999, and it remained in power until the elections on April 18. Following the election the DSP, MHP, FP (Virtue Party), the DYP and the ANAP had a right to be represented in Parliament, while CHP could not exceed the 10% threshold and could not be represented in Parliament. While DSP increased its votes, MHP became the second party. The centerright parties such as the ANAP and the DYP suffered a great loss of votes. In addition, the FP founded with the inclusion of a majority of the independent deputies of RP after it was abolished, could not maintain enough votes.

Bülent Ecevit, the DSP chairman, formed the DSP-MHP-ANAP coalition government on May 28, 1999. The 57th Government, formed as a government of reconciliation passed new laws on such important issues as the civilianization of the State Security Courts, the Banking Act, the Constitutional amendment envisaging "International Arbitration" and the Social Security Reform Package as soon as it came to power. The government which has achieved noteworthy success concerning the harmonization process with the EU that was initiated at the Helsinki Summit of 1999, also agreed on the concept of the election of a President. Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the President of the Constitutional Court , who was unanimously nominated by the leaders of the five political parties represented in parliament, assumed the presidency from Süleyman Demirel, whose term in office ended on May 16, 2000. He was elected 10th president of the Republic of Turkey with 330 votes in the third round of balloting.

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, workplaces closed down. The Turkish Republic was faced with the most severe crisis in its history. The government appointed Kemal Dervi., the then Vice- President of the World Bank, as the State Minister Responsible for the Economy. The President of the Central Bank and the Undersecretariat of the Treasury were replaced. Large scale loans were attained from the IMF and the World Bank. The Bank Law was reformulated. Parliament amended several articles of the Constitution and important steps were taken to ensure harmonization with European Union standards. The death penalty was abolished except for crimes committed during time of war and terror.

The Results of the General Elections (Nov. 3, 2002)
Following the November 3 elections, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) won an overwhelming victory and thus a majority in parliament , paving the way for Turkey 's first single-party government to assume power in over a decade. According to the official results, the Republican People's Party (CHP) was the only other party to exceed the 10 % vote threshold to enter parliament. This was out of 18 parties that ran in the election. At a huge celebration at party headquarters, AKP Leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "We will not waste our time showing off our victory. We will build a Turkey where common sense prevails." T he Justice and Development Party (AKP) has 14 female deputies and the Republican People's Party (CHP) has 12. In addition, nine independent candidates won seats in parliament. Some 10 million of Turkey 's total 41.5 million voters did not cast their ballots in the elections. The AKP won 34.29 % of the votes, which amounts to 363 seats of the 550 seats in parliament, while the CHP won 19.38 % of the votes, winning 178 seats. Meanwhile, the three coalition parties of the previous government were all defeated, with the senior Democratic Left Party (DSP) getting 1.22 %, the Motherland Party (ANAP) 5.13 %, and the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) receiving 8.36 % of the votes. Tansu Çiller's center-right True Path Party (DYP) hovered just below the 10 % threshold with 9.54 % of the votes.

On November 10, the Supreme Election Board (YSK) announced the official results of the November 3 general elections. According to the official results, 32,768,161 out of 41,231,967 voters cast their ballots in the elections. A total of 31,528,783 votes were considered valid. The YSK announced that the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which received 10 million 808 thousand 229 votes, and the Republican People's Party (CHP), which won 6 million 113 thousand 352 votes, were the winners in the elections.

On November 21, independent Elazig Deputy Mehmet Agar joined the True Path Party (DYP). With this action, the DYP has become the third party represented in parliament, along with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

Vote of Confidence
On November 16, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer gave the mandate to Abdullah Gül, Deputy Chairman of the AKP, in order to set up the new government. Abdullah Gül announced his cabinet on November 18. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer approved the list of ministers for the 58th Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Abdullah Gül. The list consists of 25 ministers, all of them deputies from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Members of the AKP government took office on November 19 after hand-over ceremonies in the ministries. The program of the government was read out in the session of Parliament on November 23, debates on the program were held on November 26, and the new government received a vote of confidence from Parliament on November 28, two days after the completion of debates on the program.

Founded only three years ago, the AKP faced a court case, which threatened to outlaw it. In addition, its leader had been banned from assuming a government post by the courts.

AKP Leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been banned from becoming a parliamentarian and prime minister due to a five-year ban from politics after being convicted of inciting hatred among religious groups. After the judiciary decision cancelling the ban of Mr. Erdogan, he has participated the election in Siirt in 9 March 2003 , and as a result Recep Tayyip Erdogan entered parliament so there after. On 11 March. 2003, Prime Minister Abdullah Gül resigned his position and took over the role of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister, and in turn Recep Tayyip Erdogan became Prime Minister and the new cabinet was formed on 14 of March, 2003.
Since the formation of the new Government led by the Justice and Development Party, reforms on almost all walks of life have been intensified. The Government has delivered without default on its pledge to realize political reforms of an historic nature designed to upgrade and enhance democratic standards in Turkey. Economic stability has increased with the continuation of the disinflation process, whereby inflation rates have fallen to their lowest level in years. The Turkish Government has also been visible in its foreign policy orientation to contribute towards regional and international peace and stability by adopting a problem solving approach.