Country name
conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
conventional short form: Turkey
local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti
local short form: Turkiye

Data code TU

Government type republican parliamentary democracy

National capital Ankara

Administrative divisions 80 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gazi Antep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahraman Maras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanli Urfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak
note: Karabuk, Kilis, Osmaniye and Yalova are the four newest provinces; the US Board on Geographic Names is awaiting an official Turkish administrative map for verification of the boundaries

Independence 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)

National holiday Anniversary of the Declaration of the Republic, 29 October (1923)

Constitution 7 November 1982

Legal system derived from various European continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
chief of state: President Suleyman DEMIREL (since 16 May 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Mesut YILMAZ (since 12 July 1997) and Deputy Prime Ministers Bulent ECEVIT (since 12 July 1997) and Ismet SEZGIN (since 12 July 1997)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister
note: there is also a National Security Council that serves as an advisory body to the president and the cabinet
elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a seven-year term; election last held 16 May 1993 (next scheduled to be held NA 2000); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Suleyman DEMIREL elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 54%

Legislative branch unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 24 December 1995 (next to be held by December 2000)
election results: percent of vote by party - RP 21.38%, DYP 19.18%, ANAP 19.65%, DSP 14.64%, CHP 10.71%, independent 0.48%; seats by party - RP 158, DYP 135, ANAP 133, DSP 75, CHP 49; note - seats held by various parties are subject to change due to defections, creation of new parties, and ouster or death of sitting deputies; seating by party as of 4 May 1998: FP 142, ANAP 139, DYP 92, DSP 62, CHP 56, DTP 22, BBP 8, MHP 2, DP 1, DEPAR 1, independents 16, vacant 9

Judicial branch Constitutional Court, judges appointed by the president; Court of Appeals, judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors

Political parties and leaders Motherland Party or ANAP [Mesut YILMAZ]; Democratic Left Party or DSP [Bulent ECEVIT]; True Path Party or DYP [Tansu CILLER]; Welfare Party or RP [Necmettin ERBAKAN] (officially outlawed on 22 February 1998); Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; Workers' Party or IP [Dogu PERINCEK]; Nation Party or MP [Aykut EDIBALI]; Democratic Party or DP [Korkut OZAL]; Grand Unity Party or BBP [Muhsin YAZICIOGLU]; Rebirth Party or YDP [Hasan Celal GUZEL]; People's Democracy Party or HADEP [Murat BOZLAK]; Main Path Party or ANAYOL [Gurcan BASER]; Democratic Target Party or DHP [Abdulkadir Yasar TURK]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Besim TIBUK]; New Democracy Movement or YDH [Huseyin ERGUN]; Labor Party or EP [Ihsan CARALAN]; Democracy and Peace Party or DBP [Refik KARAKOC]; Freedom and Solidarity Party or ODP [Ufuk URAS]; Peace Party or BP [Mehmet ETI]; Democratic Mass Party or DKP [Serafettin ELCI]; Democratic Turkey Party or DTP [Husamettin CINDORUK]; Virtue Party or FP [Ismail ALPTEKIN]; Changing Turkey Party or DEPAR [Gokhan CAPOGLU]

Political pressure groups and leaders Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Bayram MERAL]; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Ridvan BUDAK]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Muharrem KAYHAN]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [Fuat MIRAS]; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Refik BAYDUR]; Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Erol YARAR]

International organization participation AsDB, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, OECD, OIC, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNRWA, UPU, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Baki ILKIN
chancery: 1714 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 659-8200
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Mark PARRIS
embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Ankara
mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823
telephone: [90] (312) 468-6110
FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019
consulate(s) general: Istanbul
consulate(s): Adana

Flag description red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening

NOTE: The information regarding Turkey on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Turkey Government 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Turkey Government 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.