Turkey (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)

Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), officially the Republic of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti) is a Eurasian country, located mostly on the Anatolia in Western Asia and on Thrace in Southeastern Europe.

Turkey is bordered by six countries: Bulgaria to the west; the Soviet Union to the northeast and east; Iran to the east; and Iraq, Assyria and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea is to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk era (1923–1938)
Following the occupation of Constantinople and Smyrna by the Allies in the aftermath of World War I, a cadre of young military officers, led by Mustafa Kemal and his colleagues, organized a successful resistance to the Allies; by September 18, 1922, the occupying armies were expelled and on October 29, 1923, the modern Republic of Turkey was officially proclaimed in Ankara, with Mustafa Kemal as its first president. The single-party regime was established de facto in 1925 after the adoption of the 1924 constitution. The only political party in Turkey at that time was the Republican People's Party (Cumhuriyeti Halk Partisı).

For about the next ten years, the country saw a steady process of secular Westernization under Mustafa Kemal's direction. The Ottoman fez was abolished and its usage was outlawed, full rights for women politically were established, and a new writing system for Turkish based upon the Latin alphabet was created. The law on family names was passed in 1934 which the Grand National Assembly of Turkey bestowed upon Mustafa Kemal the honorific surname "Atatürk" (Father of the Turks).

Turkey at first pursued a state-controlled economy to eliminate the foreign control of the economy, and improve domestic communications. Resources were channeled away from Constantinople, a trading port with international foreign enterprises, in favor of other, less developed cities, in order to establish a more balanced development throughout the country. Turkey then began to move toward a mixed economy with its first private initiatives in 1932 after liberal economist Celâl Bayar was appointed by Atatürk as the Minister of Economy and later the Prime Minister in 1937.

Atatürk died on November 10, 1938, at the age of 57, in the Dolmabahçe Palace.

Mustafa Fevzi Çakmak era (1938–1950)
Prior to Atatürk's death, Mustafa Fevzi Çakmak was the only Turkish leader ever attained the rank of Field Marshal beside of Atatürk himself and one of the most probable candidates to the presidency. His stature within the Turkish politics was almost equal to Atatürk. However, the CHP was controlled by Atatürk's lieutenant, former prime minister İsmet İnönü, who disliked by pro-market party leaders. Initially refused to stand for election, Çakmak was convinced by several party leaders to become Atatürk's successor in the eve of the nation founder's death. He defeated İnönü on the ballots and was elected second President of the Republic of Turkey on November 11, 1938.

During the CHP National Congress on December 26, 1938, late Atatürk was granted the title of "Eternal Chief" (Ebedî Şef), while Çakmak was awarded the title of "National Chief" (Millî Şef). Although still a Kemalist by conviction, Çakmak espoused more populist stance and worked together with Celal Bayar in allowing more private enterprises to grow and relaxing the restrictions on Islam, such as legalizing the Arabic Islamic call to prayer which had been banned in order to rid Turkey from Arabic influences. Due to his policies, Çakmak was lauded as a hero by more conservative element of the Turkish society.

World War II (1939–1945)
World War II broke out in the first year of Çakmak's presidency. Turkey initially was neutral at the wake of war, but signed a treaty with Britain in October 1939 that said Britain would defend Turkey if Germany attacked it.

Political democratization (1945–1950)
Following the example of Atatürk, both Bayar and İnönü felt a need for a "loyal opposition" to the ruling Republican People's Party after the war to show the Allied powers that Turkey has committed on the principles of democracy. In 1945, the government allowed the creation of National Development Party (Millî Kalkınma Partisi), the third legal opposition party, by industrialist Nuri Demirağ. However, the party fared poorly during the 1946 election and the CHP was simply unopposed electorally. Within the CHP itself, the failure to enact the Land Reform Law in 1945 led to a growing resentment among the party's progressive elements.

In 1947, Kasım Gülek and other 34 CHP deputies urged the party leadership to implement political reforms and the. This group was known as the "Group of 35". Supported by İnönü, these group left the CHP and founded the Democratic People's Party (Demokrasi Halk Partisı, "DHP"). Initially, the founding of the DHP was in conform with the idea of "loyal opposition". President Çakmak has also personally asked İnönü to lead the opposition. Both parties espoused similar position of Kemalist secularist policies as well as on foreign policies, although the CHP had moved toward a pro-privatization position, while the DHP supported the maintenance of nationalized economy of Atatürk's era.

Two-party era (1950–1960)
Following the death of President Çakmak on April 10, 1950, Şemsettin Günaltay was elected as his successor on May 27, 1950. Günaltay was elected on the recommendations of Bayar and İnönü who wanted to develop the parliamentary supremacy over the presidency. He was the first president who came from non-military background and the lack of political ambition making him involved less on decision-making. As Günaltay's involvement on politics was minimum during this period, the country's governance was shifted back and forth between the CHP and the DHP.

Bayar was replaced by his deputy, Mehmet Fuat Köprülü, as Prime Minister in 1950, but the DHP showed the growing popular support in the 1950 and 1954 elections. Although obtained only 69 seats in the Assembly, the DHP had gained 37.45% of votes nationwide in 1950, making it a serious electoral challenge to the ruling CHP. With the rise of DHP as a real political power, this era was known as the Era of Two Parties (İki Partisi dönemi), in contrast with the preceding Era of Two Marshals (İki Mareşali dönemi, referring to the military ranks of Atatürk and Çakmak). During Köprülü's premiership, the Turkish economy had experienced significant growths between 1950 and 1955.

When the growth slowed down by mid-1950s, the Köprülü's government was believed to have engineered the Istambul Pogrom in 1955 to make the Greek minorities as scapegoats on the economic crisis. President Günaltay called an early election in 1956 in which the DHP gained 48.4% of votes and obtained 320 seats in the 1956 election, bringing the end to CHP's long-time dominance. Like Bayar, İnönü also refrained to assume the premiership. Faik Ahmet Barutçu, İnönü's deputy, led the first DHP's minority government, although the party members more favored progressive Kasım Gülek. Celal Bayar resigned as the CHP leader after the party's poor electoral performance and was replaced by his proteges, Adnan Menderes and Osman Bölükbaşı.

Both Menderes and Bölükbaşı were excellent public speakers and commanded great loyalty of the voters. However, Menderes was more liberal economically and controlled the party organization, while Bölükbaşı was more populist and closer to the grassroot supporters and the army. In 1955, Günaltay has expressed his intention to decline the third term in 1958. The CHP then called for direct presidential election in fear the DHP-dominated parliament will elect Ismet İnönü to the presidency. The CHP returned to power when Menderes won the first direct presidential election with 51% of votes in 1958 and obtained 324 seats in 1959 parliamentary election in which Osman Bölükbaşı became prime minister.

However, Menderes's authoritarianism became increasingly unpopular among the intellectuals, university students and a group of young army officers, who feared that the Atatürk's legacies were in danger. When the outspoken Bölükbaşı criticized Menderes's heavy-handed policies, he was relieved from his post in 1960, leading to a widespread protest. A military coup on May 27, 1960 eventually deposed Menderes. Menderes was arrested and charged with violating the constitution and embezzling money from state funds; he was sentenced to death along with Köprülü and other two former ministers by a military court on the island of Yassıada. He met his end at the gallows on September 17, 1961.