Bülent Ecevit

Bülent Ecevit, born on May 28, 1925 in Istanbul, Turkey, is a Turkish politician and was also a writer and journalist.

Related Topics:
May 28 - 1925 - Istanbul - Turkey - Writer - Journalist

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One of Turkey's most famous politicians, Ecevit was elected into the Turkish parliament for the first time in 1957. In 1974, he succeeded Ismet Inonu as leader of the Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (the Republican People's Party) and became prime minister in a coalition with the National Salvation Party of Necmettin Erbakan. This government is most noted for the order of a military intervention on July 20, 1974, to prevent a coup in Cyprus, dividing the island and setting the stage for the foundation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Related Topics:
Turkish parliament - 1957 - 1974 - Ismet Inonu - Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi - Republican People's Party - Prime minister - Necmettin Erbakan - July 20 - Cyprus - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

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Following the September 12, 1980, military coup led by General Kenan Evren, Ecevit was incarcerated and was suspended from active politics for life. A referrendum in 1987 lifted his ban from politics, and he became the chairman of the Demokratik Sol Parti (Democratic Left Party) in 1989, inheriting the position from his wife, Rahsan Ecevit. His party failed to enter the National Assembly in several subsequent elections, but finally succeeded in passing the electoral barrier in the 1995 national elections. He was a deputy prime minister under the last government of Mesut Yilmaz and then was briefly caretaker Prime Minsiter in the run-up to the 1999 general elections. In those elections, Ecevit's party gained the largest number of seats, leading to Ecevit's final stint as Prime Minister in a coalition with the Anavatan Partisi (Motherland Party) of Mesut Yilmaz and the Milliyetci Halk Partisi (Nationalist Action Party) of Devlet Bahceli. Ecevit's government undertook a number of reforms aimed at stabilizing the Turkish economy in preparation for accession negotiations with the European Union. However, the short-term economic pain brought on by the reforms undermined his government's popularity, caused rifts within his coalition and party, and eventually forced new elections in 2002. Ecevit, at this time visibly frail, was unsuccessful in leading his party back into the National Assembly. Ecevit subsequently retired from active politics in 2004.

Related Topics:
September 12 - 1980 - Coup - Kenan Evren - 1987 - Demokratik Sol Parti - 1989 - 1995 - Mesut Yilmaz - 1999 - Anavatan Partisi - Milliyetci Halk Partisi - Devlet Bahceli - European Union - 2002 - 2004

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Bülent Ecevit is not only a politician but also a poet and writer. He studied Sanskrit, Bengali, and English and has translated works by Rabindranath Tagore, T. S. Eliot, and Bernard Lewis into Turkish. He was successful in these literary endeavors despite never having graduated from a university, a fact that also prevented him from ever running for President of the Turkish Republic.

Related Topics:
Sanskrit - Bengali - English - Rabindranath Tagore - T. S. Eliot - Bernard Lewis - Turkish

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