| Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey | |
|---|---|
| Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanı (Turkish) | |
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| Executive branch of the Turkish Government | |
| Type | Head of government |
| Status | Abolished |
| Member of | Cabinet of Turkey National Security Council |
| Reports to | The Parliament |
| Residence | Prime Ministry Building (1925–1937) Başbakanlık Konutu (1937–2014) Çankaya Mansion (2014–2018) |
| Appointer | Thepresident In accordance with voting in theGrand National Assembly |
| Term length | 5 years (same as the term ofGrand National Assembly) 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 holder | Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (Ankara Government) İsmet İnönü (Republic) |
| Final holder | Binali Yıldırım |
| Abolished | 9 July 2018 |
| Superseded by | Vice President |
| Deputy | Deputy Prime Minister |
| Website | www.basbakanlik.gov.tr |
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 Turkey portal |
Theprime minister of Turkey, officially theprime minister of the Republic of Turkey (Turkish:Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanı), was thehead of government of theRepublic of Turkey from 1920 to 2018, who led a political coalition in theTurkish Parliament and presided over thecabinet. Throughout the political history of Turkey, functions and powers of the post have changed occasionally. Prior to its dissolution as a result of the2017 Constitutional Referendum, the holder of the premiership was generally the dominant figure in Turkish politics, outweighing thepresident.
In the Ottoman Empire, the prime minister of theOttoman sultan held the title ofGrand Vizier (Turkish:Sadrazam), though in the 19th century, some heads of government were appointed with the title Prime Minister, (Turkish:Başnazır). Starting in the 1830s, Grand Viziers began to minister cabinets. After theTanzimat period in the 19th century, the grand viziers came to assume a role more like that of theprime ministers of contemporary Western European monarchies. Later, with theOttoman constitution of 1876, aparliament was established to oversee the grand vizier. With the constitutional amendments that took place during theSecond Constitutional Era, the grand vizier was made answerable to the parliament rather than the sultan.
After the establishment of theGrand National Assembly inAnkara by theTurkish National Movement, the1st Parliament instituted a new government called "The Cabinet of the Executive Ministers" (Turkish:İcra Vekilleri Heyeti). The post was then held by theSpeaker of the Parliament, who presided over the cabinetex-officio.
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 thepresident of the republic.
Although the Presidency was established as a symbolic office with the president being unaccountable for his actions, PresidentsAtatürk andİnönü had exercised executive authority as the leader of theirparty duringthe one-party period.
Multi-party period (1945–2018)
Prior to thegeneral 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 inTurkish politics, sharply diminishing the role of the president.
After Prime Minister Adnan Menderes was ousted from power as a result of the1960 Turkish coup d'état, the newly promulgatedConstitution 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 the1980 Turkish coup d'état, theConstitution 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 the2007,2010, and2017. 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 asemi-presidential system, bringing an end to the prime minister's dominant authority in Turkish politics.[1]
Following thegeneral elections in 2018, constitutional amendments approved in the2017 referendum officially took effect, marking the end of 98 years of parliamentary governance in Turkey.
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