TURKEY • It No. 130 November/December 1991

Turkish Elections Bring Change, Coalition Government Formed Turkey's True Path Party, headed by veteran politician Suleyman Demirel, was the leading vote winner in the October 20 national elections, bringing an end to the Motherland Party's eight-year parliamentary majority. The True Path party attracted 27.2 percent ofthe vote, to 24 percent for the Motherland Party. More than 29 million Turkish citizens went to the polls to vote. Suleyman Demirel, leader of the victorious True Path Party, has served as Turkish prime minister six times and became chairman of the True Path Party in 1987. Because the party did not win enough seats in the Parliament to form the government on its own, Demirel formed a coalition government Continued on next page SULEYMANDEMIREL ERDALINONU

Suleyman Demirel coalitiongovernment and was Deputy in 1983 andlater served as chairman of Prime Minister. From October, 1965 the Social DemocraticPopulistParty Suleyman Demirel was born in 1924 until March, 1971, Mr. Demirel served (SHP), a new party created by a in Islamkoy, Turkey. In 1949, he as Prime Ministerof the Turkish merger of SODEP with the Populist graduated from Istanbul Technical Republic four different coalition Party. In 1986, he was elected to University. Afterworking as an governments. He served again as Prime parliament as a Deputy from Izmir. He engineer at the Electrical Survey Minister from 1977-78 and from 1979- was re-elected SHP chairman for the Administration in Turkey, he was 1980. In 1987, he became chairman of third time in 1991. appointed chiefofTurkey's Dams the True Path Party. Department in 1954. As an Hikmet Cetin Eisenhower Exchange Scholar, he worked for several private companies Erdai Inonu Hjkmet Cetin was born in Diyarbakir, and government agencies in the U.S. in Erdal Inonuwas born in 1926 in Turkey in 1937. A Political Science the mid-1950's, including the U.S. Ankara. After studying physics at graduate ofAnkara University, Mr. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau Ankara University, he earned a masters Cetin earned a Masters Degree at ofReclamation. degree anda doctorate inphysics from William College in the United States. Mr. Demirel was Director General of the California Institute of Technology. Mr. Cetin political background includes HydraulicWorks in Turkey from 1955- From 1960-1974, he served as a service as a State Minister and Deputy 1960. He served as chairman ofthe professorof physicsat the MiddleEast Prime Minister of the Republic of Justice Party and as a Deputy from Technical University. Mr. Inonu Turkey. Most recently, he served as Isparta from 1965-1980. entered Turkish politics as chairman of SecretaryGeneralof the Social In February 1965,he formed a theSocialDemocratic Party(SODEP) Democratic Populist Party.

Published byTHE TURKlSl EMBASSY • 1714 Massachusetts Avenue. Northwest • Washington, D.C. 20036. The Turkish Embassy is substantially assil in the distribution of this publication by Hill and Knowlton Inc., Washington, D.C, the international communications counsel for theRepublic of f key. Hilland Knowlton, Inc. is registered pursuant to 22 U.S.C. §612 with the Department of Justice where its registration and this material are available provai ofUs material by the United States Government Turkish Elections Continued from page 1 with the Social Democratic Populist Final results indicated the True Path 450 seats in Parliament There are 107 Party. The new coalition government Party won 178 seats in parliament, the electoral districts in Turkey sending a is Turkey's first since 1980. President Motherland Party 115, and the Social total of450 deputies to parliament. Turgut Ozal formally approved the new Democrats 88. Each electoral district elects between Prime Minister's 32-member cabinet, The coalition of True Path and the o and six parliamentarians depending and the cabinet received a vote of Social Democrats represents266 of thlh\/on the size of the population. confidence in parliament of280 to 164. The Social Democratic Populist Party, led by Erdal Inonu, finished third PRIME MINISTER Suleyman DEMIREL in the voting with 20.8 percent of the vote. Erdal Inonu, who will serve as MINISTER OF STATE & State Minister and Deputy Prime DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER Erdal INONU Minister, was first elected to parliament in 1986 and has served as chairman of the Social Democratic Populist Party. MINISTER OF STATE Cavit CAGLAR Hikmet Cetin, Secretary General of the Tansu CILLER Social Democratic Populist Party, will EkremCEYHUN serve as Turkey's Minister ofForeign Ibrahim TEZ Affairs. AkinGONEN U.S. Senator and Numerous GulerlLERI

Congressmen Join in Gokberk ERGENEKON

Praise of Turkish Elections OrhanKILERCIOGLU

The national election in Turkey Mehmet KAHRAMAN attracted respect and praise in the OmerBARUTCU United States Congress, where four Representatives and one Senator .. M. Ali YILMAZ praised Turkey's political system in ErmanSAHIN statements appearing in the SerifERCAN Congressional record. Mehmet BATALU A few days prior to the election, U.S. Congressman Dan Burton from Indiana said in remarks entered into the MINISTER OF JUSTICE Seyfi OKTAY

Congressional Record, "Turkey can MINISTER OF NATIONAL DEFENSE Nevzat AYAZ serve as a role model not only for the MINISTER OF INTERIOR Ismet SEZGIN Soviet Republics, but also for the neighboring countries in the Middle MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS Hikmet CETIN East." MINISTER OF FINANCE & CUSTOMS Sumer ORAL On October 23,1991, Illinois MINISTER OF NATIONAL EDUCATION Koksal TOPTAN Congressman Henry Hyde commented MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS & HOUSING Onur KUMBARACIBASI in his Extension of Remarks, "Democracy is not an easy system to MINISTER OF HEALTH Yildirim AKTUNA constrict. Turkey is making it work. MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION Yasar TOPCU Other countries who are trying to MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE & RURAL AFFAIRS ....Necmettin CEVHERI devise such a system would do well to MINISTER OF LABOR & SOCIAL SECURTTY Mehmet MOGULTAY observe Turkey." Referring specifically to the October MINISTER OF INDUSTRY & COMMERCE Tahir KOSE 20 Turkish elections, Rep. Hyde MINISTER OF ENERGY & NATURAL RESOURCES Ersin FARALYALI exclaimed, "And astounding as it MINISTER OF CULTURE Fikri SAGLAR seems, the voter turnout was 90 MINISTER OF TOURISM Abdulkadir ATES percent! More than 26 million of the 29 million voters went to the polls. We MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS Dogancan AKYUREK MINISTER OF FORESTRY Vefa TANIR Continued on page 5