Mustafa Bülent Ecevit (Turkish:[mustaˈfabyˈlæntedʒeˈvit]; 28 May 1925 – 5 November 2006) was a Turkish statesman, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist. He served as thePrime Minister of Turkey four times between 1974 and 2002. He served as prime minister in 1974, 1977, 1978–1979, and 1999–2002.[1] Ecevit was chairman of theRepublican People's Party (CHP) between 1972 and 1980, and in 1987 he became chairman of theDemocratic Left Party (DSP).
Ecevit was elected a CHP MP fromAnkara in the1957 election and came to prominence asMinister of Labour inİsmet İnönü's cabinets, representing the rising left-wing faction of the party. In 1972, Ecevit became leader of the CHP. His leadership reached out to working class voters and cemented the party as "Left of Center".
Following the coup, Ecevit was banned from politics for ten years. During the ban, the Democratic Left Party (DSP) was established under the chairmanship of his wife,Rahşan. When the ban was lifted in1987, he became the head of the DSP. While heading a caretaker government for the1999 election,PKK leaderAbdullah Öcalan was captured in Kenya, catapulting DSP into first place in the election. TheDSP-MHP-ANAP coalition (1999–2002) introduced important political and economic reforms, as well as beginningTurkey's accession into the European Union. TheMHP's withdrawal from the coalition led to the government's collapse, and in the subsequent2002 snap election, the DSP was ejected fromparliament after being unable to clear the electoral threshold. Ecevit resigned the chairmanship of the party in 2004. He died on Sunday, November 5, 2006, as a result of circulatory and respiratory failure.
Ecevit is known for being Turkey's only leftist prime minister.[1] His chairmanship resulted in the highest shares of votes CHP or any other left-wing party have ever gained in Turkish history. He is credited for introducingsocial democratic politics to Turkey by synthesizingKemalism with social democracy, thus making social democracy a core tenet in modern Kemalist ideology. Ecevit is the last non-AKP Prime Minister of Turkey.
Bülent Ecevit's maternal great-grandfather was theMeccanSheikh-ul-IslamHacı Emin Pasha, who served to protect the holy sights ofHejaz in theOttoman Empire. The inheritance of his estate, which consisted of approximately 110 decares of land and 99 acres of theMasjid an-Nabawi was left to him once Ecevit's mother died. One lawyer valued the estate at almost $2 billion, while unofficial valuation made by aMedina Court put it at $11 billion. In the end Ecevit donated the proceeds of the estate to theDirectorate of Religious Affairs for the benefit of TurkishHajjis, after his retirement from politics.[10][11]
In 1944, Ecevit graduated fromRobert College inIstanbul. He started work as a translator at the General Directorate for Press and Publication (Turkish:Basın Yayın Genel Müdürlüğü). In 1946, shortly after marrying his classmateZekiye Rahşan Aral, he moved toLondon to work in theTurkish embassy as a press attaché. During his stay he studiedBengali,Sanskrit andArt History at theSchool of Oriental and African Studies but did not graduate.[12] He also indulged in composingSufi poetry.[13] Bülent Ecevit was not only a politician but also a poet, journalist and a writer. In the 1950s, he worked as an editor forUlus, and thenYeni Ulus,Halkçı, andForum.[14] He later reported that bothUlus andForum were two significant parts of his intellection life of that period.[15]
In 1955 Ecevit went to theUnited States for three months as a guest journalist for theWinston-Salem Journal inNorth Carolina, and was disturbed by the racism he witnessed in the American South.[16][17] On his last day at the newspaper he wrote a front-page article about how strange it was that Americans took it upon themselves to fight oppression in the world while white Americans were
“guilty of refusing to drink from the same fountain as the man who has fought on the same front for the same cause; guilty of refusing to travel on the same coach or seat as the man who has been working with equal ardor for a common community; guilty of refusing to pray to God side by side with the man who believes in the same prophet's teaching.”
By 1965, Ecevit was the leader of the "Democratic Left Movement", a young and energeticleft-wing faction in the CHP. His closeness with left-wing politics came from his admiration of theLabour Party and the burgeoningwelfare state he was exposed to while studying inBritain.[21] He pressured his mentor İnönü to adopt a new party program known asLeft of Center for thegeneral elections that year, arguing thatdemocratic socialism was the best way to combat communism.[23] The party lost the election toSüleyman Demirel's center-rightJustice Party.[24] In opposition, the party was racked with internal power struggles, as Ecevit andTurhan Feyzioğlu fought over the party's political orientation. İnönü reluctantly favored Ecevit (who he thought was too young), and in the 18th ordinary CHP congress held in 1966 he was elected secretary general of the CHP. An extraordinary congress held the next year saw 47 deputies and senators led by Feyzioğlu leave the CHP to found theReliance Party. In 1969, secretary general Ecevit announced a village development program and using the slogan "Land for those who cultivate it, water for those who utilize it."[25]
Another inter-party crisis occurred in themilitary memorandum of 1971, as Ecevit resigned from his position in protest against İnönü's decision to supportthe military government. He objected the memorandum, saying that it was directed against the Left of Center movement within the CHP. Heated exchanges occurred between the once old allies, with at one point İnönü saying "[It's] Either me or Bülent!"[26] promising that he would resign if his party did not have confidence in him. On 8 May 1972 İsmet İnönü lost a vote of confidence to Ecevit in an extraordinary congress. İnönü thus was the first general chairman in Turkish political history to lose his position as a result of a party leadership vote.
Despite the conflict between İnönü and Ecevit originally being about the former's support for the technocratic military government, Ecevit initially provided ministers to theMelen government, but withdrew support soon after a reaction from his party base. Rumours circulated that CHP would be banned by the military.[27]
In the1973 presidential election, both Ecevit and Demirel agreed to end the soldier-president tradition and voted againstFaruk Gürler. The two compromised to supportFahri Korutürk's candidacy as the president, who was an admiral. However, secretary generalKamil Kırıkoğlu still voted for Gürler and he and 32 CHP deputies resigned from the party.
A delegation led by Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit, visitingClaude Monet's gardens after attending French PresidentGeorges Pompidou's funeral. The delegation was received by Bernard Berche, the Mayor ofGiverny. The French hosts were reportedly embarrassed for their presenting the unkempt garden in front of the cultured Turkish prime minister who spoke perfect English.
The CHP's electability was put to the test in thegeneral elections of 1973. With the campaign sloganAkgünlere (To brighter days), the help of labour unions, and other leftist groups, the CHP won 185 deputies with 33.3% of the votes, winning a plurality of the votes and seats in parliament. Ecevit was invited to forma government and formed a coalition with the IslamistNational Salvation Party (MSP) headed byNecmettin Erbakan.[20]
A general amnesty that saw 40,000 rightists and leftists leave jail was implemented,[28] as well as lifting the ban onopium cultivation that was previously implemented by the military governments under heavy American pressure. The age to vote was lowered to 18.
In July 1974,inter-communal violence in Cyprus once again flared up when pro-EOKA forcesstaged a coup against presidentMakarios. Ecevit went to London to meet with British officials, as the UK is also aguarantor state of Cyprus, but a common policy for the situation in Cyprus was not found. Ecevit decided to militarily intervene andinvaded Cyprus, for which he is nicknamed the 'Conqueror of Cyprus' (Turkish:Kıbrıs Fatihi).[29] This resulted in anarms embargo by the United States on Turkey which lasted for three years.[30]
As a left-wing nationalist, Ecevit initially believed Turkey's destiny was not with Europe. He extended thisEurosceptic sentiment to his economic policy, not only establishing generous social programs and enabling a larger government role in the economy, but also raising protectivetariffs to keep cheap foreign goods out of Turkey. His combative stance against Athens prevented Turkey from joining theEuropean Economic Community jointly withGreece in 1979.[21]
After much conflict with his coalition partner and hoping to gain more support for his government through a snap election, Ecevit resigned as prime minister after just 10 months of governing. He was outflanked when the right-wing parties united to form theFirst Nationalist Front under Demirel's premiership, during which Turkish politics became heavily polarized and violent. The CHP defeated theJustice Party in the1977 general elections by gathering 41.38% of the votes, the highest share of votes CHP and any other left-wing party has ever gained in Turkish history. Despite winning the election, Ecevit did not have a majority and was unable to form a coalition, so he formed aminority government which lasted just one month. Demirel subsequently took over as prime minister and formed another right-wing government known as theSecond Nationalist Front.
Bülent Ecevit with the President of the United States,Jimmy Carter, at theWhite House, 31 May 1978.
In what was known as theGüneş Motel Incident, Ecevit was able to bring down Demirel's government on 5 January 1978, after announcing to the press "I am looking for 11 deputies who have no gambling debts." He became prime minister for a third time with a narrow majority by forminga government supported by theDemocratic Party,Republican Reliance Party, and 11independent MPs who defected from the Justice Party to take cabinet positions in the new government. His third premiership was marked by a peak in political violence which manifestedin Kahramanmaraş andMalatya againstAlevis and CHP supporters and their subsequent reprisals against right wing activists. Ecevit suspected the "Counter-Guerrilla", the Turkish branch of Gladio, was responsible for the massacres and for theTaksim Square massacre in Istanbul, during which snipers fired on a protest rally of 500,000 citizens, killing 38 and injuring hundreds. In later interviews, Ecevit recalled that he first learned about the existence ofOperation Gladio, a secret "stay-behind"NATO army, in 1974. His government issued martial law on the final days of December 1978 in thirteen provinces mainly in southeastern Turkey, but also in Istanbul and Ankara.[31] With allegations of corruption between Ecevit and the independent MPs,TÜSİAD requesting his resignation by printing advertisements on newspapers, and defeat in the1979 by-elections, Ecevit resigned as prime minister on 14 October 1979.[citation needed] Without a majority, Demirel returned as premier. In the lead up to another military intervention in1980, parliament attempted 115 timesto vote for a new president.
Bülent Ecevit was subject to six assassination attempts. All but one occurred in the 1970s. Five happened in Turkey[22] and one in the United States, the most famous of which took place on 23 July, 1976 inNew York City by aGreek Cypriot and on 29 May, 1977 atÇiğli Airport. Mehmet İsvan, brother of theMayor of IstanbulAhmet İsvan, was injured in the attempt in Çiğli Airport. Various testimonies allege that the weapon used in Çiğli Airport originated from theSpecial Warfare Department.[32]
OnSeptember 12, 1980 theTurkish Armed Forces seized control of the country. Bülent and Rahşan and most politicians were incarcerated for a month in Hamzaköy,Gelibolu. Along with politicians of all other parties Ecevit was banned from politics for ten years, with the provisional Article 4 of the newconstitution. He resigned from the chairmanship of the CHP on October 30, 1980.[33] The Republican People's Party and all other existing political parties were banned by the military. He was banned from traveling abroad in April 1981 for his opposition to the military rule. He was twice more imprisoned from December 1981 to February 1982 and August to October 1982 for his opposition to the junta.[21]
This ban on politics did not stop Ecevit from continuing to participate in politics. He refused to associate himself with the successor parties created by old CHP supporters, like thePopulist Party andSocial Democracy Party. Instead his wifeRahşan Ecevit worked to establish a new political party: theDemocratic Left Party (DSP). Bülent was often invited to speak in DSP rallies as a guest speaker. Many lawsuits filed against him on the grounds that he violated his ban on politics with his speeches. When the Populist Party and Social Democracy Party united under the name of theSocial Democrat Populist Party (SHP) in November 1985 the Ecevits were criticized for refusing to also merge DSP with SHP, which served to divide thecenter-left, social-democratic/Kemalist votes.[34]
With his ban from politics being finally lifted in areferendum in 1987, he took over the chairmanship of DSP, inheriting the position from Rahşan. His party failed to enter the Grand National Assembly for polling below 10% in thegeneral elections held two months later, so Ecevit briefly resigned before returning as DSP leader in 1989. Emphasizing the need to preserve national unity and secularism in thegeneral elections held in 1991, he attacked SHP, saying "Do not divide the social democratic votes." He also criticized SHP for forming an electoral alliance with the new pro-KurdishPeople's Labor Party, and claimed that the SHP "cooperated with the separatists". Despite his partial Kurdish heritage, Ecevit refused to recognizeKurds as an ethnic group in his speeches, and would repeatedly oppose legislation to legalize education in Kurdish andKurdish television.[13] This stance mellowed upon European pressure when he returned to power in 1999.[1] Despite winning 11% of the vote in the election, Ecevit and only six other DSP deputies entered the Grand National Assembly.
With the ban on the name "Republican People's Party" and the acronym "CHP" now lifted, an initiative to reestablish the CHP came to the agenda. Ecevit was invited to the 1992 congress that refounded the CHP, but he did not attend. While SHP merged under the reconstituted CHP in 1995, he again objected to uniting the Kemalist parties. To this day, DSP remains a separate political party from CHP.
DSP's fortunes changed after the1995 elections, when the party won 76 seats out of 550. Ecevit served as deputy prime minister for two years inMesut Yılmaz's government, who was assigned to form a government after Necmettin Erbakan was overthrown by the military in the "postmodern coup". In 1999, after nearly twenty years, he returned to the premiership for the last time to forma minority government in the run-up to the1999 general elections. In those elections – helped by the fact thatAbdullah Öcalan, head of thePKK, was apprehended inKenya and flown to Turkey during this period – Ecevit's party gained the largest number of seats, allowing him to stay as prime minister in a coalition with Yılmaz's centristMotherland Party andDevlet Bahçeli's ultranationalistMHP. Ecevit's coalition partners offered to amend the constitution to allow for his presidential candidacy in the2000 election, which he wasn't allowed to partake since he never attained a degree from a higher educational institution. Despite his popularity and parliament willing to amend theConstitution for his candidacy, he refused, instead opting to support the candidacy of independent politicianAhmet Necdet Sezer.
Ecevit's last premiership was his longest at almost four years. In coalition with parties to his right, some which were old foes such as MHP –Ecevit was also appointed PM by his old rival who was now president, Süleyman Demirel– he was criticized for adopting pro-business policies and abandoning his leftist values.[1] The government passed many important laws, including banking reform,unemployment insurance, a law to ensure the autonomy of theCentral Bank, qualified industrial zones, tender law, and employment incentive law, to name a few. The government also amended 34 articles of theConstitution to widen fundamental rights and freedoms and undertook a number of reforms aimed at stabilizing the Turkish economy. These were in preparation foraccession negotiations with the European Union. Ecevit acknowledged that his past anti-EU views were a mistake, and that Turkey's destiny with Europe.[1] His foreign ministerİsmail Cem was instrumental in what is currently the latest step of Turkish–EU accession, when in theHelsinki Summit in December 1999, Turkey was recognized as a full candidate country for theEuropean Union. Three major EU harmonisation packages were passed during this government, including the most comprehensive package of August 2002, which included the abolishment ofcapital punishment.[35] However progress to EU ascension inevitably hit a roadblock, that being of his making; theCyprus Dispute.[13]
Amassive economic crisis which originated from long overdue problems from previous governments, but ultimately triggered by an incident wherePresident Sezer threw a booklet of the Turkish constitution at Ecevit in aNational Security Council meeting, specifically when he claimed economic reform was impossible, caused the value of theLira to crash in February 2001. Two months later, Ahmet Çakmak, a florist who was struggling from the economic crisis and inspired by Sezer's outburst, ran in front of news cameras and shouted "Mr. Prime Minister, I am a tradesman!" throwing acash register at Ecevit's direction as he was walking out of a cabinet meeting.[36][37] Eventually Ecevit hired theWorld Bank economistKemal Derviş hiseconomic minister. With his guidance, the government passed an extensive series of comprehensive economic reforms and regulations. These included changes to the tender law, economic social council law, unemployment insurance, the restructuring of state banks, accreditation law, law on capital markets, and establishment of competition authorities. These successful reforms allowed for Derviş to sign off on a $20 billion loan from theInternational Monetary Fund, which enabled thehigh growth of 2002–2007 after DSP's fall from government.
TheKocaeli earthquake occurred 17 August 1999, killing tens of thousands in Istanbul andİzmit and causing billions in damages. A tax to prevent earthquake damage (also known as theEarthquake tax) was established after the disaster.[38]
During this period, the "Law of Conditional Release and Postponement," also known as theRahşan Amnesty, was passed in reaction to the large amount ofhunger strikes occurring in prison, which gave conditional amnesty to crimes other than those committed against the state. Advocated for by Rahşan Ecevit, she commented on the outcome of her law in retrospect, saying "I asked for forgiveness for the poor, [instead] the murderers benefited." With this amnesty, the number of prisoners decreased from 70,000 to 40,000, but in three years it increased again to 64,000.
Bülent Ecevit was a strong opponent of theinvasion of Iraq by the US, though he allowed American planes to use bases in Turkey for their air patrols over Northern Iraq. Even still, he criticizedAmerican sanctions on Iraq, which he said caused needless suffering.[1]
Rumors about Bülent Ecevit's ill health were confirmed when he was taken toBaşkent University Ankara Hospital on 4 May, 2002, which became a source of national anxiety.[21] He was taken out of the hospital by Rahşan and brought to their home when his condition worsened.[39] Bülent rested at home, but was taken back to the hospital. Rahşan shared her doubts about her husband's treatment with public during this period. Her allegations were denied, but the issue was brought up again in theErgenekon trials in the following years.
Discussions came to the fore whether Ecevit could continue governing while incapacitated. Nine deputies from the DSP issued a statement on 25 June, demanding "to lead a life without Ecevit under the leadership of Ecevit". Another group of DSP deputies, who made a press statement on behalf of him on 5 July, openly criticized Deputy Prime MinisterHüsamettin Özkan, one of the closest names to Ecevit. On 7 July, Bahçeli withdrew support from the coalition, and called for early elections. The next day, Özkan resigned, which was followed by the resignation of several ministers and half of DSP's parliamentary group, with most of them joining theNew Turkey Party, founded by foreign minister Cem. With the resignations, the coalition government lost its numerical support in the parliament. A summit held on 16 July between the leaders of the coalition government resulted in the decision to hold early elections on 3 November 2002. In the vote held in parliament on at the end of July, 449 out of 514 deputies voted to hold an early election.[40]
Allegations of corruption, the economic crisis, as well as Ecevit's poor health resulted in DSP facing electoral wipeout in the2002 general election, attaining only 1.2% of the vote and losing all of its MPs. TheJustice and Development Party (AKP) entered parliament with a comfortable majority and governs Turkey to this day. In a press conference held on 25 July 2004 Ecevit announcedZeki Sezer as his successor to DSP, and resigned as chairman. He officially left active politics in summer,[20] and devoted his remaining years to writing.[1]
After attending the funeral of his friendYücel Özbilgin, who was killed in theTurkish Council of State shooting on 19 May 2006, he suffered acerebral hemorrhage, went into a coma and stayed in the intensive care unit of theGülhane Military Medical Academy for a long time.[41] Ecevit died of circulatory and respiratory failure at 22:40 on Sunday, 5 November, 2006, 172 days after he entered a vegetative state.
Immediately after his death the Grand National Assembly passed a law to allow for prime ministers and speakers of parliament to also be buried in theTurkish State Cemetery (Turkish:Devlet Mezarlığı) in Ankara, which allowed Bülent to be buried there.[42] Upon the death of Bülent Ecevit's wife Rahşan in January 2020, the parliament voted to also have civilians be buried in the State Cemetery, allowing her to be interred there too.[43]
Astate funeral was held on 11 November 2006 at the State Cemetery after a funeral prayer inKocatepe Mosque,[44][45] attended by approximately a million people from all 81 provinces[46] and from many countries, especially fromNorthern Cyprus. Five former presidents also attended the funeral.
Against the advice of theTurkish military, Ecevit visitedFethullah Gülen's schools and spoke highly of them. In 1997, the Journalists and Writers Foundation, of which Gülen was an honorary chairman of, presented Ecevit (and Demirel) with the "Award for National Reconciliation in the Field of Politics".[47]
During the escalation of the1997 military memorandum crisis, Chief Public ProsecutorNuh Mete Yüksel prepared an indictment against Gülen. Footage of Gülen's speeches years ago were broadcast on a multitude of television channels in which Gülen presented about "how they [theGülen movement] should be structured in the bureaucracy".[48] Questioned about Gülen's statement later on, Prime Minister Ecevit defended Gülen in an interview, saying that he hasn't seen any suspicious behavior in his schools, which provide secular education inline to theprinciples of Atatürk.[49]
While deputy prime minister, Ecevit requested the Italian Ambassador to greet Gülen when he went to Rome in 1998, which drew a reaction from generalÇevik Bir.[48]
In the inaugural session of the21st parliament elected in1999,Merve Kavakçı entered the Grand National Assembly's chamber with aheadscarf, which violated Turkey's then strictly enforcedlaicité laws. DSP deputies protested her entrance, graveling their benches and shouting "out!" Ecevit eventually came up to the podium:[50]
No one interferes with women's clothing, headscarves and private lives in Turkey. However, this is not a private living space. This is the highest institution of the state. Those who work here have to abide by the rules and traditions of the state. This is a challenge to the state! This is not the place to challenge! Please put this lady in her place!
Kavakçı did not show up to the second session of parliament, and her MP status was later terminated.[27]
Bülent Ecevit's trademark was his blue shirt andmariner's cap. Another trademark of his was the dove, in his many campaign rallies Ecevit released doves into the air. The dove is also displayed on the logo of DSP. He smoked Bitlis andParliament cigarettes and wrote with an Erika typewriter, a gift from his in-law,İsmail Hakkı Okday. He donated his 70-year-old typewriter to theMETU Science and Technology Museum.
Bülent and Rahşan lived exceptionally modestly and frugally.[1][13][21][51] They had no children.[1]
The origin of Ecevit's popular nickname "Karaoğlan" (a Turkish folk hero) came in a visit toKars. Shortly after his election as CHP chairman, when found himself guest in the house of his friend Rasim Yarkadaş inSusuz district. Rasim's mother welcomed her guest at the door of their house, hugging Ecevit and exclaiming in a distinct Kars dialect, "Save us from these troubles, Garaoğlan!"[a][52] He also had the nickname "Halkçı Ecevit" (Populist Ecevit).
Süleyman Demirel used the nickname "Allende-Büllende" to compare his rival, Ecevit, to the Chilean socialist statesmanSalvador Allende, who was overthrown and committed suicide ina military coup.[53]
Ecevit was also known asKıbrıs Fatihi "Conqueror of Cyprus" after the Cyprus Operation during his premiership, and also asKenya Fatihi "Conqueror of Kenya" after the operation to capture Abdullah Öcalan.
Ecevit holds a unique legacy in Turkey's political history for being its only left-wing prime minister.[13] There has also been no Kemalist prime ministers since his last government. He was also the last prime minister from the CHP.[27] His chairmanship resulted in the highest shares of votes CHP and any other left-wing party have ever gained in Turkish history. He was the last leader of Turkey before the AKP came into power at his expense in 2002, which has governed Turkey since. Ecevit'sDSP-MHP-ANAP government was the longest lasting coalition government in Turkish history.
Ahmet Çakmak, who threw a cash register at Ecevit in 2001 out of frustration from the economic crisis said the following twenty years later: “Ecevit understood the state of the citizen. After the incident, he talked to me many times and sought a solution. If we did something like this now, we would be [called] terrorists. I miss Ecevit, I visited his grave at least 20 times."[54]
^Aytekin Gezici,Bülent Ecevit, Bir Karaoğlan Masalı, Akis, 2006. Aras Erdoğan,Umut Ecevit, Kesit, 2006,p. 19.Archived 31 March 2012 at theWayback Machine
^"Ecevit anlatıyor: Kıbrıs Barış Harekatının perde arkası".OdaTV (in Turkish). 20 August 2019. Archived fromthe original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved8 April 2021.Türkiye ayağa kalkmış, "Karaoğlan" kahraman olmuştu. Dağlara taşlara adı yazılıyor, evlerin, kahvehanelerin duvarlarını, otomobillerin camlarını "Kıbrıs Fatihi"nin resimleri süslüyordu.
^Pekesen, Berna (2020).Turkey in Turmoil, Social Change and Political Radicalization during the 1960s. De Gruyter Oldenbourg. pp. 167–173.ISBN978-3-11-065039-6.
^"3 Kasım'da seçim kararı aldı". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved5 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), Radikal, 31 Temmuz 2002.
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