Turkey and Turkish News

Country Profile
Turkey, known officially as the Republic of Turkey is located in Western Asia.Turkey's location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia makes it a country of significant geostrategic importance.
Turkey is one of the 6 Turkic States - Azerbaijan,Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan,Turkey,Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
Turks constitute about 70% of the population and  Kurds constitute about 18 % of the population.The vast majority of the population is Muslim.
Turkey is subdivided into 81 provinces for administrative purposes.Provinces usually bear the same name as their provincial capitals, also called the central district.In all, 19 provinces have populations that exceed 1 million inhabitants, and 20 provinces have populations between 1 million and 500,000 inhabitants. Only two provinces have populations less than 100,000

The biggest city and the pre-Republican capital Istanbul  is the financial, economic and cultural heart of the country.An estimated 75.5% of Turkey's population live in urban centers.

Capital                         Ankara
Currency                      Turkish Lira
Population                     74 Million(2011 Estimate)
Official Language          Turkish

History

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk(May 19,1881 - Nov 10,1938) was an Ottoman and Turkish Army Officer, Revolutionary Statesman,Writer and the first President of Turkey who is credited with being the Founder of the Republic of Turkey . His surname, Atatürk (meaning "Father of the Turks"), was granted to him in 1934 by the Turkish parliament. Atatürk was a military officer during World War I.Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, he led the Turkish National Movement in the Turkish War of Independence

 

Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel, better known as Süleyman Demirel served as the Prime Minister of Turkey 7 times during the period -
7)November 20, 1991 – May 16, 1993
6)November 12, 1979 – September 12, 1980
5)July 21, 1977 – January 5, 1978
4)March 31, 1975 – June 21, 1977
3)March 6,1970- March 26,1971
2) Nov 3,1969 - March 6,1970
1)October 27, 1965 – Nov 3, 1969
Tansu Penbe Çiller,was Turkey's first and only Female Prime Minister who held the office during the period June 25,1993 – March 6, 1996

Politics and Govt

Turkey is a Parliamentary Representative Democracy.The President of the Republic is the Head of State who is elected for a five-year term by direct elections.

President of Turkey
The current President of Turkey is Abdullah Gul  was elected as president on 28 August 2007, by a popular parliament round of votes, succeeding Ahmet Necdet Sezer

  
Prime Minister of Turkey
Executive Power is exercised by the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers which make up the Govt.
The prime minister is elected by the parliament through a vote of confidence in the government and is most often the head of the Party having the most seats in parliament.
The current prime minister is the former mayor of İstanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Grand National Assembly of Turkey
Legislative Power is vested in the Unicameral Parliament - Grand National Assembly of Turkey which has 550 members of parliament who are elected for a four-year term by a party list proportional representation  system from 85 electoral districts which represent the 81 provinces.

 

Universal Suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote.

Turkey's Founder Remembered - Sunday Nov 10,2012

Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Ministers and Army Commanders follow a Guard of Honour at the Mausoleum of Turkey's Founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk during a ceremony marking the 74th anniversary of his death in Ankara

People carry Turkish flags and portraits of Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as they gather at his mausoleum during a ceremony marking the 74th anniversary of his death in Ankara

A Turkish woman carries a national flag and a portrait at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the revered founding father of the modern Turkish Republic in 1923, during a ceremony marking the 74th anniversary of his death in Ankara, Turkey, on Nov 10, 2012

Turkish muslim women/woman wear a Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's mask during the 74th anniversary of his death, at the courtyard of the Ottoman-era Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul

People carry Turkish flags and portraits of Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as they gather at his mausoleum during a ceremony marking the 74th anniversary of his death in Ankara

People gather at the mausoleum of Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk during a ceremony marking the 74th anniversary of his death in Ankara