Prime Minister of Turkey

{{short description|Head of government of the Turkish government (1920–2018)}}

{{For|a list of officeholders of the Republic of Turkey|List of prime ministers of Turkey}}

{{Infobox official post

| post = Prime Minister

| body =
the Republic of Turkey

| native_name = {{native name|tr|Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanı}}

| insignia =

| insigniasize =

| insigniacaption = Seal of the Prime Minister used until 2018

| insigniaalt =

| flag =

| flagsize =

| flagalt =

| flagborder =

| flagcaption =

| image = File:Portrait of Binali Yıldırım (cropped).jpg

| imagesize =

| alt =

| imagecaption = Last served
Binali Yıldırım
24 May 2016 – 9 July 2018

| incumbent =

| acting =

| incumbentsince =

| department = Executive branch of the Turkish Government

| style =

| type = Head of government

| status = Abolished

| abbreviation =

| member_of = Cabinet of Turkey
National Security Council

| reports_to = The Parliament

| residence = Prime Ministry Building
{{small|(1925–1937)}}
Başbakanlık Konutu
{{small|(1937–2014)}}
Çankaya Mansion
{{small|(2014–2018)}}

| seat =

| nominator =

| appointer = The President

| appointer_qualified = In accordance with voting in the Grand National Assembly

| termlength = 5 years (same as the term of Grand National Assembly)

| termlength_qualified = While commanding the majority in the parliament. No term limits are imposed on the office.

| constituting_instrument = Constitution of Turkey

| precursor = Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire

| formation = 3 May 1920 (Ankara Government)
1 November 1923 (Republic)

| first = Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (Ankara Government)
İsmet İnönü (Republic)

| last = Binali Yıldırım

| abolished = 9 July 2018

| superseded_by = Vice President

| succession =

| unofficial_names =

| deputy = Deputy Prime Minister

| salary =

| website = {{url|http://www.basbakanlik.gov.tr/|www.basbakanlik.gov.tr}}

| footnotes =

}}

{{Politics of Turkey}}The prime minister of Turkey, officially the prime minister of the Republic of Turkey ({{langx|tr|Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanı}}), was the head of government of the Republic of Turkey from 1920 to 2018, who led a political coalition in the Turkish Parliament and presided over the cabinet. Throughout the political history of Turkey, functions and powers of the post have changed occasionally. Prior to its dissolution as a result of the 2017 Constitutional Referendum, the holder of the premiership was generally the dominant figure in Turkish politics, outweighing the president.

Premiership in the Ottoman Era

In the Ottoman Empire, the prime minister of the Ottoman sultan held the title of Grand Vizier ({{langx|tr|Sadrazam}}), though in the 19th century, some heads of government were appointed with the title Prime Minister, ({{langx|tr|Başnazır}}). Starting in the 1830s, Grand Viziers began to minister cabinets. After the Tanzimat period in the 19th century, the grand viziers came to assume a role more like that of the prime ministers of contemporary Western European monarchies. Later, with the Ottoman constitution of 1876, a parliament was established to oversee the grand vizier. With the constitutional amendments that took place during the Second Constitutional Era, the grand vizier was made answerable to the parliament rather than the sultan.

Premiership in the Government of the Grand National Assembly

After the establishment of the Grand National Assembly in Ankara by the Turkish National Movement, the 1st Parliament instituted a new government called "The Cabinet of the Executive Ministers" (Turkish: İcra Vekilleri Heyeti). The post was then held by the Speaker of the Parliament, who presided over the cabinet ex-officio.

Premiership in the Republic

One-party period (1923–1945)

Following the declaration of the republic, the existing constitution of 1921 was amended, conferring the executive authority and the privilege to oversee governmental affairs to the prime minister, who was to be appointed by the president of the republic.

Although the Presidency was established as a symbolic office with the president being unaccountable for his actions, Presidents Atatürk and İnönü had exercised executive authority as the leader of their party during the one-party period.

Multi-party period (1945–2018)

Prior to the general election held in 1950, the constitution was amended, disallowing the president-elect to remain the leader of their political party. These amendments resulted in the prime minister becoming the dominant figure in Turkish politics, sharply diminishing the role of the president.

After Prime Minister Adnan Menderes was ousted from power as a result of the 1960 Turkish coup d'état, the newly promulgated Constitution of 1961 reduced the powers of the government considerably, strengthening parliamentary supervision over the cabinet. These features of the constitution resulted in a fractured political system, causing many short-lived coalition governments to be formed until 1980.

In the aftermath of the 1980 Turkish coup d'état, the Constitution of 1982 (still in use) was implemented. Even though the Constitution of 1982 was quite similar to its predecessor, there were new measures taken to avoid the formation of short-lived coalition governments. These measures included the introduction of 10% electoral threshold, unicameral parliamentary structure, and enforced executive powers. Along with broad executive powers being vested in the post of the prime minister, the realm of authority of the cabinet ministries (with the exclusion of the prime ministry) was drastically reduced, placing the ministers under the direct supervision of the prime minister.

Later on, numerous amendments were made on the constitution, with the ones of paramount importance being the 2007, 2010, and 2017. Some of the changes approved by public vote were highly controversial.

According to some, the direct election of the president for the first time in 2014 resulted in a de facto transition into a semi-presidential system, bringing an end to the prime minister's dominant authority in Turkish politics.{{Cite web|last=Karagöz|first=Serdar|date=2014-04-14|title=De facto semi-presidential system and Erdoğan|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/columns/serdar_karagoz/2014/04/14/de-facto-semipresidential-system-and-erdogan|access-date=2020-09-08|website=Daily Sabah|language=en|archive-date=2020-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129050625/https://www.dailysabah.com/columns/serdar_karagoz/2014/04/14/de-facto-semipresidential-system-and-erdogan|url-status=live}}

Following the general elections in 2018, constitutional amendments approved in the 2017 referendum officially took effect, marking the end of 98 years of parliamentary governance in Turkey.

File:Basbakanlik logo.jpg

Timeline

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from: 24/01/1921 till: 09/06/1922 color:red text:"Çakmak" fontsize:10

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from: 20/11/1991 till: 16/05/1993 color:purple text:"Demirel" fontsize:10

bar:Erim

from: 26/03/1971 till: 17/04/1972 color:ind text:"Erim" fontsize:10

bar:Melen

from: 17/04/1972 till: 15/04/1973 color:yellow text:"Melen" fontsize:10

bar:Talu

from: 15/04/1973 till: 25/01/1974 color:ind text:"Talu" fontsize:10

bar:Ecevit

from: 25/01/1974 till: 17/11/1974 color:red

from: 21/06/1977 till: 21/07/1977 color:red

from: 05/01/1978 till: 12/11/1979 color:red

from: 11/01/1999 till: 18/11/2002 color:red text:"Ecevit" fontsize:10

bar:Irmak

from: 17/11/1974 till: 31/03/1975 color:ind text:"Irmak" fontsize:10

bar:Feyzioğlu

from: 12/09/1980 till: 12/09/1980 color:orange text: "Feyzioğlu" fontsize:10

bar:Ulusu

from: 20/09/1980 till: 13/12/1983 color:ind text:"Ulusu" fontsize:10

bar:Özal

from: 13/12/1983 till: 31/10/1989 color:yellow text:"Özal" fontsize:10

bar:Akbulut

from: 09/11/1989 till: 23/06/1991 color:yellow text:"Akbulut" fontsize:10

bar:Yılmaz

from: 23/06/1991 till: 20/11/1991 color:yellow

from: 06/03/1996 till: 28/06/1996 color:yellow

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bar:Çiller

from: 25/06/1993 till: 06/03/1996 color:purple text:"Çiller" fontsize:10

bar:Erbakan

from: 28/06/1996 till: 30/06/1997 color:orange text:"Erbakan" fontsize:10

bar:Gül

from: 18/11/2002 till: 14/03/2003 color:orange text:"Gül" fontsize:10

bar:Erdoğan

from: 14/03/2003 till: 28/08/2014 color:orange text:"Erdoğan" fontsize:10

bar:Davutoğlu

from: 28/08/2014 till: 24/05/2016 color:orange text:"Davutoğlu" fontsize:10

bar:Yıldırım

from: 24/05/2016 till: 09/07/2018 color:orange text:"Yıldırım" fontsize:10

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20180711150613/http://www.basbakanlik.gov.tr/ The Prime Minister's Office]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20101201041755/http://www.tbmm.gov.tr/anayasa.htm Official Turkish Constitution]
{{Cite web|title=Prime Minister Central Building history (Turkish)|url=https://emlakkulisi.com/basbakanlik-merkez-binasi-muzeye-donusturulecek/185052}}

Category:1920 establishments in the Ottoman Empire

Category:2018 disestablishments in Turkey

Category:Heads of government of Turkey

Category:Defunct government ministries of Turkey