Cemal Gürsel
Encyclopedia
Cemal Gürsel was a Turkish
army
officer
, and the fourth President of Turkey
.
to the Turkish parents as the son of an Ottoman Army officer, Abidin Bey, the grandson of Ibrahim (1820–1895) and the great-grandson of Haci Ahmad (1790–1860) (family testimonial). After the elementary school in Ordu
and the military middle school in Erzincan
, he graduated from the Kuleli military high school in Istanbul
. He was a popular figure and was therefore nicknamed "Cemal Ağa" (big brother Cemal) since his childhood school years and onwards all his life.
Gürsel served in the Army for 45 years. During World War I, he participated in the Battle of Çanakkale in Dardanelles
, Gallipoli
as a lieutenant with the First Battery of the 12th Artillery
Regiment in 1915 and received the War Medal. He later fought at the Palestine and Syria
fronts in 1917 and became a prisoner of war
by the British while suffering malaria
during his command of the 5th Battery of the 41st Regiment on 19 September 1918. Gürsel was kept as a prisoner of war in Egypt
until 6 October 1920. During his presidency much later, when interviewed by the foreign press as to why he had not learned English during his captivity, he somewhat regretfully recalled that he was so frustrated to be a captive, he protested and studied French in the British camp instead.
After his release, Cemal Gürsel returned to Anatolia
to re-join Mustafa Kemal
subsequent to Erzurum Congress
and took part in all the western front campaigns
in the Turkish War of Independence
between 1920-1923. He was promoted for gallantry in the First Division excelling in the battles of Second Inönü
, Eskişehir
and Sakarya
, and was later awarded the Medal of Independence
by the first Parliament for his combat service in the Final Offensive.
Gürsel was married, in 1927, to Melahat, the daughter of a navy officer who served on Frigate Hamidiye, and they had one son, Muzaffer.
and graduated in 1929 as a staff officer. From 1946 on, he served in all general ranks up to four-star general including chief of intelligence and was appointed as the Commander of Land Forces in 1958 when he was in command of the 3rd Army.
Gürsel, as an easy-going and fatherly figure with a fine sense of humor, was well liked both nationally and in NATO circles, and had earned the respect and confidence of both the nation and the armed forces with his professional knowledge and demeanor. A patriotic memorandum he sent on 3 May 1960 to the Minister of Defense in an effort to establish checks and balances on ongoing affairs, reflecting his personal views in continuation of the chat they had the night before, expressing his support to the prime minister Adnan Menderes
and belief that the Prime Minister should replace the President with immediate effect to bolster a much needed national unity, resulted in his suspension from his post, forcing early retirement instead of becoming the next chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.
A farewell letter by him, advocating and urging the army to stay out of politics, was forwarded to all units of the armed forces at the time of his departure on leave. Cemal Gürsel's statement read: 'Always hold high the honor of the army and the uniform you wear. Protect yourselves from the current ambitious and harmful political atmosphere in the country. Stay away from the politics at all cost. This is of utmost importance to your honor, the army's might and the future of the country.' He went to İzmir
where he became the president of the Anti-Communism Association of Turkey.
, the Commander of the Third Army based in Eastern Anatolia, gave an ultimatum to the revolting officers that if they did not have a general appointed as their head, the Third Army would attack to take over the capitol and the administration of the country, thereby forcing the revolting team to find a heading officer over them. Because of his immense popularity among the public and military ranks, Gürsel was subsequently chosen by the revolters overnight and brought in to the chairmanship of the military coup as the only leader in the world who became so without any contribution to a military takeover. He, while still in his pajamas, was escorted to Ankara in the military C-47 transport plane only by a captain who was the youngest officer of the radical coup team that, by that time, had already sent President Celal Bayar
, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes
, List of Chief of General Staff Rüştü Erdelhun and some other members of the ruling Demokratic Party to a military court on Yassıada
in the Sea of Marmara
, accusing them of violation of the constitution
. The day after the coup, Four-star general Cemal Gürsel was declared the commander in chief, Head of state
, Prime minister
and Minister of Defense of the 24th government on May 30, 1960, in theory giving him more absolute powers than even Kemal Atatürk had ever had.
Gürsel freed 200 students and nine newsmen, and licensed 14 banned newspapers to start publishing again (Time
, 6 June 1960). He fetched ten law professors, namely Sıddık Sami Onar, Hıfzı Veldet Velidedeoğlu, Ragıp Sarıca, Naci Şensoy, Hüseyin Nail Kubalı, Tarık Zafer Tunaya, İsmet Giritli, İlhan Arsel, Bahri Savcı and Muammer Aksoy, accompanied by Erdoğan Teziç, a law postgraduate student as their assistant (currently Professor and the former Chairman of the Turkish Council of Higher Education), from Istanbul and Ankara Universities to help draft a new constitution
on 27 May, right after he arrived in Ankara. During their first meeting with General Cemal Gürsel on the same day, Prof. Onar declared on behalf of the group of law academicians that 'the circumstances of the day should not be interpreted as an ordinary and political coup d'état
', implying the revolution
being brought by the change process starting in the republic that day. President Cemal Gürsel also formed a scientific council to guide the Ministry of Defence (in parallel to a separate scientific law council to write the new constitution of the Republic of Turkey) at the time and later ordered the foundation of the broader Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey as the extended continuation of his MoD Scientific Council with the primary advisory duty of providing guidance to the government's all plans and policies.
He appointed General Ragıp Gümüşpala
, the commander of the Third Army, as the new Chief of the General Staff who, upon his retirement in two months, was succeeded by General Cevdet Sunay
, and Gümüşpala was further directed by Gürsel to form the new Justice Party
to bring together the former members of the Democratic Party. A simple and conservative sort, Head of State Cemal Gürsel became Turkey's most popular figure, forbade display of his picture alongside Atatürk's in government offices, rode about in an open Jeep touring rural communities, talking to the peasants almost as if they were his children (Time, 6 January 1961). He was successful with his personal interventions in reducing the number of execution verdicts from the Yassıada tribunals from 15 down to three. Gürsel's plea for forgiveness and attempts along with several other world leaders for the reversal of the execution sentences and for the release of Adnan Menderes and two other ministers were rejected by the Junta. A member of the National Unity Committee writes in his memoirs that, upon Cemal Gürsel's intervention on the prevention of Menderes' execution, the chief prosecutor of the tribunal, Altay Ömer Egesel, said: ‘Let us hurry! They will save him (Menderes)!’, also arranging a contingency plan for conducting the execution in a Navy Destroyer in the event of a forgiveness operation in Imrali Island to save Menderes while, at the same time, placing a press release questioning the legal ability of Gursel for an intervention. Senator Mehmet Feyyat, District Attorney of Istanbul at the time, recently declared: ‘They cut off our phone lines. Adnan Menderes was hanged against the regulations. I was supposed to oversee the execution. The revolution tribunal's chief prosecutor Egesel conducted the execution despite not being authorized. İsmet İnönü and Cemal Gürsel were already phoning for him (Menderes) not to be executed but the telecommunications' office cut off the lines and Egesel made use of the (communication) gap to conduct the execution.’Cemal Gürsel resisted pressure to continue military rule, was wounded as a result of a military assassination attempt on his life (forgave the colonel who shot him), thwarted subsequent multiple military coup attempts, appointed the organizers of the coup to overseas posts and played an important role in the preparation of a new constitution
and return to the democratic order in Kemalist vision.
Cemal Gürsel rescheduled and attended the previously cancelled Turkish
and Scottish
national football teams' game in Ankara on 8 June 1960 (Turkey 4, Scotland 2) which was followed by a National Football Tournament, The Cemal Gürsel Cup, that helped boost the national morale in the post-coup weeks with finals in Istanbul on 3 July (Fenerbahçe 1, Galatasaray 0). He took an active role in extensive modernization of Turkish Armed Forces
and the staunch defense of the free world and Europe during the cold war
, in particular during the Cuban Missile Crisis
. The declaration of independence of Cyprus according to the prior agreements and the deployment of a Turkish military unit to Cyprus took place in August 1960. He hosted the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ankara in early 1961 and the visit of the vice president Lyndon Johnson in 1962.Gursel obtained, with the coordinated work of Sir Bernard Burrows
, and granted permission of the ruling military National Unity Committee (NUC) for British military combat aircraft to overfly Turkish airspace on their way to support Kuwait, which was under threat of invasion by Iraq in July 1961.
When questioned by a German journalist regarding his intentions on becoming the next president upon proposal of the interim parliament, Cemal Gürsel responded that he was ready to serve only if asked by the nation, not by the interim house. He neither put his own candidacy forward for the president nor lobbied for his election or against any other candidate in any way. He offered his endorsement of candidacy of several high rank academicians in Medicine and Sciences in Ankara for both the interim prime minister and future president positions. Gürsel placed a special emphasis on participatory democracy with the promotion of the full interests of the nation's minorities, appointing Turkish Citizen ethnic leaders Hermine Kalustyan of Armenian, Kaludi Laskari of Greek and Erol Dilek of Jewish origin as his "Deputy Representatives of Head of State" and the full members of the interim House of Representatives. The editor of Shalom, Avram Leyon, accompanied him on his travels and foreign state functions. He re-established the freedom of speech that was overwhelmingly taken away from the media organs and the press by the previous cabinet.
The constitution
, which brought for the first time a full text of civil and political rights under constitutional protection along with an improved system of checks and balances in Turkish history, was approved by a referendum held on 10 October 1961. With the establishment of the first Court of Constitution that created a new paradigm shift by scrutinizing the parliamentary rulings as the "checks" organ in 1961 and the addition of a Senate to the parliament, the Turkish Grand National Assembly was re-opened after the general elections, nominated and voted him as the fourth president of Turkey. Journalist Parliamentarian Cihat Baban claims in his book, The Gallery of Politics (Politika Galerisi), that Cemal Gürsel told him "We may solve all troubles if Süleyman Demirel
becomes the head of the Justice Party (Adalet Partisi). I am working very hard for him become the party leader. If I succeed in this, I will be happy.." Demirel was elected Chairman at the second grand party convention on 28 November 1964. The President of the Republic of Turkey Cemal Gürsel assigned the mandate to form and serve as the Prime Minister of the new government to İsmet İnönü
in November 1961, June 1962 and December 1963, to senator Suat Hayri Ürgüplü
on February 1965 and, following the general elections, to Suleyman Demirel of Justice Party in October 1965.
With the reduction of tensions between the West and the Soviet bloc, Gürsel sought improved relations for his country's population of 27.8 million with the Soviet Union, such as the initiation of a telephone line agreement, as with the other members of the Western alliance while initiating new credit agreements with the US and the UK as well as bilateral technical and investment relations with Germany in 1960s.
The atomic reactor in Istanbul became operational in 1962 along with his establishment of the first Research and State Library of the government in two years after his administration started. He promoted the grant of the freedom of and the legal rights to form unions and to go on strike in the country. Turkish Universities gained autonomous independence by law for the first time upon the legislation he passed. Cemal Gürsel granted presidential pardon for the life sentences of the previous president Celal Bayar
and the former chief of general staff Rustu Erdelhun whose prior execution sentence was also revoked by the National Unity Committee upon Gursel's appeals. He initiated the new era of planned economy in Turkey, formed a State Institute of Statistics, launched the State Planning Organization (DPT) that implemented "The First 5-Years Development Plan", arranged re-entry of the Turkish Republic in the United Nations Security Council in 1961 and moved Turkey, through his close and personal diplomatic dialogues with Charles de Gaulle
and Konrad Adenauer
, into the direction of European Union
membership with Ankara Agreement
, signed with France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Luxembourg
in 1963, resulting in associate membership the following year and a large Turkish workforce migration to Germany and the west Europe to assist their postwar industrial development.
When a Cypriot leader who was exiled out of the UK previously in 1956 on the basis of his "support for terrorism and being the greatest obstacle on the path of peace", threatened in November 1963 to amend basic articles of the 1960 constitution guaranteeing the rights of ethnic Turks on the island, communal violence ensued and Turkey, Great Britain and Greece, the guarantors of the agreements which had led to Cyprus' independence, wanted to send a NATO force to the island under the command of General Young. Due to the continued ethnic violence against the Cypriot Turks and mass killings of island's Turkish population under western watch, President Gursel ordered warning flights and subsequent continuous air assaults by the Turkish Air Force against the military targets of the island which continued between August 7 and 10, 1964, ending with the fulfilment of military objectives of the Guarantor Country, Turkey, and the invitation to calm by Nikita Khrushchev of USSR.
Cemal Gürsel reformed the "Teskilat-i Mahsusa", the "Special Organization" of clandestine security services to a modern National Intelligence Agency in response to and preparation against escalating international terrorism trends in 1963. He paved the way to Middle Eastern countries and Pakistan to concentrate on economic and cultural matters of mutual interest and Ankara recognized Syria following the breakup of the old United Arab Republic
in 1961, further reestablishing diplomatic relations with Egypt
in 1965. In July 1964, Pakistani President Ayub Khan, Turkish President Cemal Gürsel, and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
of Iran
announced in Istanbul the establishment of the Regional Cooperation for Development
(RCD) organization to promote transportation and joint economic projects also envisioning Afghanistan
and possibly Indonesia joining at some time in the future. He granted asylum to the political dissidents Ayatollah Khoumeini of Iran and Molla Barzani of Iraq.
Gürsel, 40 years after the foundation of the Republic, launched the first radio broadcasting station of Eastern Anatolia within the centrally located province of Erzurum, where Ankara and Istanbul radios’ transmissions were not received. He brought the Microwave
Telecommunications Network into operation increasing telephone and teletype capacity along with a High-Frequency Radio Link connecting London and Ankara
with Rawalpindi
, Karachi
, Tehran
and Istanbul
. He laid the foundations of the new agricultural and structural development plans for the south-eastern Anatolian regions in early 1960s for the first time. With his directive, The Holy Relics from Prophets Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David and Muhammad
, including the oldest Qur'an in existence from the 7th Century were put on display from their storage rooms within the Topkapi Palace
for public viewing for the first time on 31 August 1962. Gürsel added the first Ministry of Culture and Tourism to the cabinet. In a parallel effort of promoting the country's touristic popularity in the west, Topkapi (film)
, the movie version of the book by Eric Ambler
that had been commissioned for the same purpose was shot in Paris and Istanbul and was introduced with success. Similarly, one of the most favorite books of John F. Kennedy, Ian Fleming's "From Russia with Love" was shot in Istanbul as the second James Bond movie, to promote turistic popularity of Turkey, with his keen interest. The Directorate of Religious Affairs network of the country was founded with his directive and became operational on 22 June 1965. He started the new procedure of returning the law proposals presented for the President's approval back to the Parliamentary re-discussions in 1963. Cemal Gürsel founded The National Security Council
(MGK) as well as the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) in 1963, appointing Professor Cahit Arf
as its first director, officially charging TUBITAK primarily with governmental advisory duty by legislation. In addition to the foundation of the Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) organization as a government agency in 1964 that brought the television broadcast to Turkey for the first time under his administration, the opening of The School of Press and Broadcasting at the College of Political Sciences in Ankara followed in November 1965. The country's new initiative of Planning of Population Growth Control was put in effect in 1965. The production of the first domestic Turkish automobile, Devrim (Revolution), took place with Cemal Gürsel's directive which sparked the initiation of an automotive industry in the republic in the following few years. The first use of a computer in the country, iron and steel mass production growth, the thermic power plant and a petrol pipeline structuring took place during his presidency. Cemal Gürsel refused remuneration for his Head of State and subsequent President positions and made his and his family's living with his retired general's salary, meeting their own expenses during their life in the Presidential Palace
in Çankaya, Ankara.
that started in early 1961 and progressed quickly in 1966, Cemal Gürsel was flown 2 February to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center
in Washington, D.C on the private airplane "BlueBird" sent by US President
Lyndon B. Johnson
. One week later, he fell into a coma
there after suffering a series of new paralytic strokes. The government decided he return to Turkey on 24 March. In addition to issuing the following statement, President Johnson went by helicopter from the White House
to Andrews Air Force Base
, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., to pay his respects to President Cemal Gürsel on his departure to home. 'Our distinguished friend, President Cemal Gursel of Turkey, came to the United States on February 2 for medical treatment. There was hope that new therapeutic procedures only recently developed in this country would be useful in treating his illness of several years. We were initially encouraged by his progress at Walter Reed Hospital, only to be shocked by the news on February 8 that his health had suffered a grave new blow. Our best talent, coupled with the skill of the eminent Turkish doctors who accompanied the President, was exerted to the utmost in the hope that the President might return to his home in fully restored health. We are saddened that this hope was not to be realized. We have been deeply honored to have President Gursel come to our country to seek medical treatment. As he returns to his homeland, our prayers go with him'. With a report of a medical committee by Gülhane Military Hospital in Ankara
, the parliament ruled on 28 March 1966 that his presidency be terminated due to ill health in accordance with the constitution. He died of apoplexy
at 0645hrs on 14 September 1966 in Ankara. He left behind no directives or last will. He was laid to rest at the "Freedom Martyrs Memorial" section in the yard of the mausoleum of Atatürk
. His body was transferred on 27 August 1988 to a permanent burial place in the newly built Turkish State Cemetery
.
for a westernized democratic progress in Atatürk's tradition(commentary by Imran Oktem, Chief Supreme Court Justice - Yargitay, 1966). His portrait as a statesman and soldier remained next to Atatürk's in most homes in Turkey for a long time. Erzurum Cemal Gürsel Stadium, some schools and streets were named after him. The developments during his term were described as the "Turkish Revolution" which was celebrated annually on 27 May as the Constitution Day until 1981. In 2002, a commemorative coin was released for the same. In 2008, the movie "The Cars of Revolution" was released in his memory. Cemal Gursel is survived by two grand-daughters, Özdem and Melkan.
Dear General Gursel:
It is a great pleasure for me to send greetings to you and to the Turkish people on the occasion of the opening of the Turkish Constituent Assembly. This historic event is a further tangible demonstration of Turkish dedication to democratic ideals and of its determination to build a solid foundation for the future. Please extend my best wishes to the members of this Assembly for the success of the important work on which they are embarking.
Sincerely,"
Dwight D. Eisenhower
"Dear Mr. President:
I congratulate you on your election as President of the Republic of Turkey. I also wish to congratulate, in the name of the United States Government and its people, the Turkish Government and people for their success in promulgating a new constitution and in establishing a freely-elected Grand National Assembly. As you assume your Presidential responsibilities, let me assure you of my country's dedication to the firm friendship and co-operation which have consistently characterized Turco-American relations. We are united in our aims of preserving the security of our homelands and creating a world where mankind can live in peace and freedom. In these cherished causes, we are proud to work side by side with the Government and people of Turkey. Please accept my warmest greetings and best wishes.
Sincerely",
John F. Kennedy
"Dear Mr President Gursel:
I send warm greetings to you and the Turkish people on this fortieth anniversary of the founding of the Republic. The United States is proud of its association with Turkey in an alliance that rests on common aspirations and mutual interests. The American people admire the resolute spirit and manifest courage of the Turkish people. To this end, we welcome Turkey's new five-year development program, and wish it the fullest success. We will continue to hold firmly to this policy of cooperation, which has so greatly advanced our common interests and added so much to the defensive strength of the free world.
Sincerely,"
John F. Kennedy
The Times, London
President Cemal Gursel described President Kennedy on the radio tonight as "a pioneer in the great struggles of humanity, a determined fighter for world peace and a firm friend of the Turkish Nation. Every Turkish family feels a personal grief at this horrible crime" he said.
"Dear Mr. President:
I extend to you and to the government and people of Turkey my condolences and those of my fellow Americans on the passing of former President Cemal Gursel.
We are all saddened at the loss of this good man, whose ideals and accomplishments we have long respected. He was a wise and valiant leader, dedicated to the preservation of democracy and the safety of his nation and the Free World.
The close ties of friendship existing between our two countries make us feel the more deeply Turkey's loss. Our hearts are with you in your sorrow.
Sincerely,"
Lyndon B. Johnson
"Dear Mrs. Gursel:
Mrs. Johnson and I extend our heartfelt sympathy on the passing of your distinguished husband. The memory of his lifetime as a soldier and statesman in the service of the highest ideals will be a legacy of inspiration to us all. We in America share your bereavement in the loss of this great and good man. You can be assured that our thoughts and prayers were always with him in his illness and that they are now with you in your grief.
Sincerely,"
Lyndon B. Johnson
A number of people from those of the old
And a few from those of later times
Brothers facing each other on thrones of dignity
No pettiness will they hear in there
And not even a little of sinful talk
Only the saying "Peace! Peace!" (56:13-26; 15:47)
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
, and the fourth President of Turkey
President of Turkey
The President of Turkey is the head of state of the Republic of Turkey. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office but has some important functions...
.
Early life
He was born in the city of ErzurumErzurum
Erzurum is a city in Turkey. It is the largest city, the capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census. .Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the...
to the Turkish parents as the son of an Ottoman Army officer, Abidin Bey, the grandson of Ibrahim (1820–1895) and the great-grandson of Haci Ahmad (1790–1860) (family testimonial). After the elementary school in Ordu
Ordu Province
Ordu Province is a province of Turkey, located on the Black Sea coast. Its adjacent provinces are Samsun to the northwest, Tokat to the southwest, Sivas to the south, and Giresun to the east. Its traffic code is 52...
and the military middle school in Erzincan
Erzincan Province
Erzincan Province is a province in the eastern region of Anatolia, Turkey, and home to Erzincan, a city which was destroyed and rebuilt after an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 on December 27, 1939...
, he graduated from the Kuleli military high school in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. He was a popular figure and was therefore nicknamed "Cemal Ağa" (big brother Cemal) since his childhood school years and onwards all his life.
Gürsel served in the Army for 45 years. During World War I, he participated in the Battle of Çanakkale in Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
, Gallipoli
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
as a lieutenant with the First Battery of the 12th Artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
Regiment in 1915 and received the War Medal. He later fought at the Palestine and Syria
Sinai and Palestine Campaign
The Sinai and Palestine Campaigns took place in the Middle Eastern Theatre of World War I. A series of battles were fought between British Empire, German Empire and Ottoman Empire forces from 26 January 1915 to 31 October 1918, when the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Ottoman Empire and...
fronts in 1917 and became a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
by the British while suffering malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
during his command of the 5th Battery of the 41st Regiment on 19 September 1918. Gürsel was kept as a prisoner of war in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
until 6 October 1920. During his presidency much later, when interviewed by the foreign press as to why he had not learned English during his captivity, he somewhat regretfully recalled that he was so frustrated to be a captive, he protested and studied French in the British camp instead.
After his release, Cemal Gürsel returned to Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
to re-join Mustafa Kemal
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
subsequent to Erzurum Congress
Erzurum Congress
Erzurum Congress was an assembly of Turkish Revolutionaries held from 23 July to 4 August 1919 in the city of Erzurum, in eastern Turkey, in accordance with the previously issued Amasya Circular...
and took part in all the western front campaigns
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
in the Turkish War of Independence
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
between 1920-1923. He was promoted for gallantry in the First Division excelling in the battles of Second Inönü
Second Battle of Inönü
The Second Battle of İnönü was fought between 26 and 31 March 1921 near İnönü in present-day Eskişehir Province, Turkey during the Greco-Turkish War , part of Turkish War of Independence...
, Eskişehir
Battle of Afyonkarahisar-Eskisehir
The Battle of Afyonkarahisar–Eskişehir was fought between June 27 and July 10, 1921 when the Greek army defeated the Turkish troops commanded by İsmet Pasha in defence of the line of Kara Hisâr-ı Sahib -Kütahya-Eskişehir...
and Sakarya
Battle of Sakarya
The Battle of Sakarya , also known as the Battle of the Sangarios , was an important engagement in the Greco-Turkish War and Turkish War of Independence....
, and was later awarded the Medal of Independence
Turkish Medal of Independence
Medal of Independence was a special military decoration issued in limited number by Grand National Assembly of Turkey in accordance with the Act 66 of November 29, 1920. It was awarded to military personnel and civilians, who had made important contributions to the country during the Turkish War...
by the first Parliament for his combat service in the Final Offensive.
Gürsel was married, in 1927, to Melahat, the daughter of a navy officer who served on Frigate Hamidiye, and they had one son, Muzaffer.
Military career
Cemal Gürsel attended the military academyMilitary academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps of the army, the navy, air force or coast guard, which normally provides education in a service environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.Three...
and graduated in 1929 as a staff officer. From 1946 on, he served in all general ranks up to four-star general including chief of intelligence and was appointed as the Commander of Land Forces in 1958 when he was in command of the 3rd Army.
Gürsel, as an easy-going and fatherly figure with a fine sense of humor, was well liked both nationally and in NATO circles, and had earned the respect and confidence of both the nation and the armed forces with his professional knowledge and demeanor. A patriotic memorandum he sent on 3 May 1960 to the Minister of Defense in an effort to establish checks and balances on ongoing affairs, reflecting his personal views in continuation of the chat they had the night before, expressing his support to the prime minister Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes was the first democratically elected Turkish Prime Minister between 1950–1960. He was one of the founders of the Democratic Party in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He was hanged by the military junta after the 1960 coup d'état, along with two other cabinet...
and belief that the Prime Minister should replace the President with immediate effect to bolster a much needed national unity, resulted in his suspension from his post, forcing early retirement instead of becoming the next chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.
A farewell letter by him, advocating and urging the army to stay out of politics, was forwarded to all units of the armed forces at the time of his departure on leave. Cemal Gürsel's statement read: 'Always hold high the honor of the army and the uniform you wear. Protect yourselves from the current ambitious and harmful political atmosphere in the country. Stay away from the politics at all cost. This is of utmost importance to your honor, the army's might and the future of the country.' He went to İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
where he became the president of the Anti-Communism Association of Turkey.
Head of state
The military coup d'état without the participation or leadership of Cemal Gürsel on May 27, 1960 after continuing civilian and academia unrests throughout the country. It is rumored that Four-star general Ragıp GümüşpalaRagıp Gümüşpala
Ragıp Gümüşpala was the 11th Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces and founder of the Justice Party in 1961. He died shortly afterwards, on 6 June 1964, in Istanbul.-External links:...
, the Commander of the Third Army based in Eastern Anatolia, gave an ultimatum to the revolting officers that if they did not have a general appointed as their head, the Third Army would attack to take over the capitol and the administration of the country, thereby forcing the revolting team to find a heading officer over them. Because of his immense popularity among the public and military ranks, Gürsel was subsequently chosen by the revolters overnight and brought in to the chairmanship of the military coup as the only leader in the world who became so without any contribution to a military takeover. He, while still in his pajamas, was escorted to Ankara in the military C-47 transport plane only by a captain who was the youngest officer of the radical coup team that, by that time, had already sent President Celal Bayar
Celal Bayar
Celâl Bayar was a Turkish politician, statesman and the third President of Turkey. At the time of his death, he was the longest lived former head of state, living over 103 years .-Early years:He was born in 1883 at Umurbey, a village of Gemlik, Bursa as the son of a religious leader and teacher...
, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes was the first democratically elected Turkish Prime Minister between 1950–1960. He was one of the founders of the Democratic Party in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He was hanged by the military junta after the 1960 coup d'état, along with two other cabinet...
, List of Chief of General Staff Rüştü Erdelhun and some other members of the ruling Demokratic Party to a military court on Yassıada
Yassiada
Yassıada is one of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara. The island, which has an area of 0.05 km², is officially a neighbourhood in the Adalar district of Istanbul, Turkey.x...
in the Sea of Marmara
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black...
, accusing them of violation of the constitution
Turkish Constitution of 1924
The Constitution of 1924, formally titled the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey , was the fundamental law of Turkey from 1924 to 1961. It replaced the Constitution of 1921 and was ratified by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey following the proclamation of the republic on 29 October 1923....
. The day after the coup, Four-star general Cemal Gürsel was declared the commander in chief, Head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
, Prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
and Minister of Defense of the 24th government on May 30, 1960, in theory giving him more absolute powers than even Kemal Atatürk had ever had.
Gürsel freed 200 students and nine newsmen, and licensed 14 banned newspapers to start publishing again (Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, 6 June 1960). He fetched ten law professors, namely Sıddık Sami Onar, Hıfzı Veldet Velidedeoğlu, Ragıp Sarıca, Naci Şensoy, Hüseyin Nail Kubalı, Tarık Zafer Tunaya, İsmet Giritli, İlhan Arsel, Bahri Savcı and Muammer Aksoy, accompanied by Erdoğan Teziç, a law postgraduate student as their assistant (currently Professor and the former Chairman of the Turkish Council of Higher Education), from Istanbul and Ankara Universities to help draft a new constitution
Turkish Constitution of 1961
The Constitution of 1961 was the fundamental law of Turkey from 1961 to 1982. It was introduced following the 1960 coup d'état, replacing the earlier Constitution of 1924. It was approved in a referendum held on 9 July 1961, with 61.7% of the nation voting in favor...
on 27 May, right after he arrived in Ankara. During their first meeting with General Cemal Gürsel on the same day, Prof. Onar declared on behalf of the group of law academicians that 'the circumstances of the day should not be interpreted as an ordinary and political coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
', implying the revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
being brought by the change process starting in the republic that day. President Cemal Gürsel also formed a scientific council to guide the Ministry of Defence (in parallel to a separate scientific law council to write the new constitution of the Republic of Turkey) at the time and later ordered the foundation of the broader Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey as the extended continuation of his MoD Scientific Council with the primary advisory duty of providing guidance to the government's all plans and policies.
He appointed General Ragıp Gümüşpala
Ragıp Gümüşpala
Ragıp Gümüşpala was the 11th Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces and founder of the Justice Party in 1961. He died shortly afterwards, on 6 June 1964, in Istanbul.-External links:...
, the commander of the Third Army, as the new Chief of the General Staff who, upon his retirement in two months, was succeeded by General Cevdet Sunay
Cevdet Sunay
Cevdet Sunay was a Turkish army officer, political leader and the fifth President of Turkey.He was born in 1899 in Çaykara, Trabzon Province, in the Ottoman Empire. After attending elementary school and middle school in Erzurum and Edirne, he graduated from Kuleli Military High School in Istanbul...
, and Gümüşpala was further directed by Gürsel to form the new Justice Party
Justice Party (Turkey)
The Justice Party was a Turkish political party prominent in the 1960s and 1970s. A descendant of the Democrat Party, the AP was dominated by Süleyman Demirel, who served six times as prime minister, and was in office at the time of the military coup on September 12, 1980...
to bring together the former members of the Democratic Party. A simple and conservative sort, Head of State Cemal Gürsel became Turkey's most popular figure, forbade display of his picture alongside Atatürk's in government offices, rode about in an open Jeep touring rural communities, talking to the peasants almost as if they were his children (Time, 6 January 1961). He was successful with his personal interventions in reducing the number of execution verdicts from the Yassıada tribunals from 15 down to three. Gürsel's plea for forgiveness and attempts along with several other world leaders for the reversal of the execution sentences and for the release of Adnan Menderes and two other ministers were rejected by the Junta. A member of the National Unity Committee writes in his memoirs that, upon Cemal Gürsel's intervention on the prevention of Menderes' execution, the chief prosecutor of the tribunal, Altay Ömer Egesel, said: ‘Let us hurry! They will save him (Menderes)!’, also arranging a contingency plan for conducting the execution in a Navy Destroyer in the event of a forgiveness operation in Imrali Island to save Menderes while, at the same time, placing a press release questioning the legal ability of Gursel for an intervention. Senator Mehmet Feyyat, District Attorney of Istanbul at the time, recently declared: ‘They cut off our phone lines. Adnan Menderes was hanged against the regulations. I was supposed to oversee the execution. The revolution tribunal's chief prosecutor Egesel conducted the execution despite not being authorized. İsmet İnönü and Cemal Gürsel were already phoning for him (Menderes) not to be executed but the telecommunications' office cut off the lines and Egesel made use of the (communication) gap to conduct the execution.’Cemal Gürsel resisted pressure to continue military rule, was wounded as a result of a military assassination attempt on his life (forgave the colonel who shot him), thwarted subsequent multiple military coup attempts, appointed the organizers of the coup to overseas posts and played an important role in the preparation of a new constitution
Turkish Constitution of 1961
The Constitution of 1961 was the fundamental law of Turkey from 1961 to 1982. It was introduced following the 1960 coup d'état, replacing the earlier Constitution of 1924. It was approved in a referendum held on 9 July 1961, with 61.7% of the nation voting in favor...
and return to the democratic order in Kemalist vision.
Statesman
Turkey national football team
The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...
and Scottish
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
national football teams' game in Ankara on 8 June 1960 (Turkey 4, Scotland 2) which was followed by a National Football Tournament, The Cemal Gürsel Cup, that helped boost the national morale in the post-coup weeks with finals in Istanbul on 3 July (Fenerbahçe 1, Galatasaray 0). He took an active role in extensive modernization of Turkish Armed Forces
Turkish Armed Forces
The Turkish Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy , and the Air Force...
and the staunch defense of the free world and Europe during the cold war
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, in particular during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
. The declaration of independence of Cyprus according to the prior agreements and the deployment of a Turkish military unit to Cyprus took place in August 1960. He hosted the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ankara in early 1961 and the visit of the vice president Lyndon Johnson in 1962.Gursel obtained, with the coordinated work of Sir Bernard Burrows
Bernard Alexander Brocas Burrows
Sir Bernard Alexander Brocas Burrows was a British diplomat.Burrows studied at Eton College and Trinity College in Oxford. In 1934, after two years spent learning languages in France, Austria and Italy, he entered the Diplomatic Service...
, and granted permission of the ruling military National Unity Committee (NUC) for British military combat aircraft to overfly Turkish airspace on their way to support Kuwait, which was under threat of invasion by Iraq in July 1961.
When questioned by a German journalist regarding his intentions on becoming the next president upon proposal of the interim parliament, Cemal Gürsel responded that he was ready to serve only if asked by the nation, not by the interim house. He neither put his own candidacy forward for the president nor lobbied for his election or against any other candidate in any way. He offered his endorsement of candidacy of several high rank academicians in Medicine and Sciences in Ankara for both the interim prime minister and future president positions. Gürsel placed a special emphasis on participatory democracy with the promotion of the full interests of the nation's minorities, appointing Turkish Citizen ethnic leaders Hermine Kalustyan of Armenian, Kaludi Laskari of Greek and Erol Dilek of Jewish origin as his "Deputy Representatives of Head of State" and the full members of the interim House of Representatives. The editor of Shalom, Avram Leyon, accompanied him on his travels and foreign state functions. He re-established the freedom of speech that was overwhelmingly taken away from the media organs and the press by the previous cabinet.
The constitution
Turkish Constitution of 1961
The Constitution of 1961 was the fundamental law of Turkey from 1961 to 1982. It was introduced following the 1960 coup d'état, replacing the earlier Constitution of 1924. It was approved in a referendum held on 9 July 1961, with 61.7% of the nation voting in favor...
, which brought for the first time a full text of civil and political rights under constitutional protection along with an improved system of checks and balances in Turkish history, was approved by a referendum held on 10 October 1961. With the establishment of the first Court of Constitution that created a new paradigm shift by scrutinizing the parliamentary rulings as the "checks" organ in 1961 and the addition of a Senate to the parliament, the Turkish Grand National Assembly was re-opened after the general elections, nominated and voted him as the fourth president of Turkey. Journalist Parliamentarian Cihat Baban claims in his book, The Gallery of Politics (Politika Galerisi), that Cemal Gürsel told him "We may solve all troubles if Süleyman Demirel
Süleyman Demirel
Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel, better known as Süleyman Demirel , is a Turkish politician who served as Prime Minister seven times and was the ninth President of Turkey.-Life:Demirel was born in İslamköy, a town in Isparta Province...
becomes the head of the Justice Party (Adalet Partisi). I am working very hard for him become the party leader. If I succeed in this, I will be happy.." Demirel was elected Chairman at the second grand party convention on 28 November 1964. The President of the Republic of Turkey Cemal Gürsel assigned the mandate to form and serve as the Prime Minister of the new government to İsmet İnönü
Ismet Inönü
Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:...
in November 1961, June 1962 and December 1963, to senator Suat Hayri Ürgüplü
Suat Hayri Ürgüplü
Ali Suat Hayri Ürgüplü was a Turkish political figure. He served a brief term as prime minister of Turkey in 1965.-Biography:...
on February 1965 and, following the general elections, to Suleyman Demirel of Justice Party in October 1965.
With the reduction of tensions between the West and the Soviet bloc, Gürsel sought improved relations for his country's population of 27.8 million with the Soviet Union, such as the initiation of a telephone line agreement, as with the other members of the Western alliance while initiating new credit agreements with the US and the UK as well as bilateral technical and investment relations with Germany in 1960s.
The atomic reactor in Istanbul became operational in 1962 along with his establishment of the first Research and State Library of the government in two years after his administration started. He promoted the grant of the freedom of and the legal rights to form unions and to go on strike in the country. Turkish Universities gained autonomous independence by law for the first time upon the legislation he passed. Cemal Gürsel granted presidential pardon for the life sentences of the previous president Celal Bayar
Celal Bayar
Celâl Bayar was a Turkish politician, statesman and the third President of Turkey. At the time of his death, he was the longest lived former head of state, living over 103 years .-Early years:He was born in 1883 at Umurbey, a village of Gemlik, Bursa as the son of a religious leader and teacher...
and the former chief of general staff Rustu Erdelhun whose prior execution sentence was also revoked by the National Unity Committee upon Gursel's appeals. He initiated the new era of planned economy in Turkey, formed a State Institute of Statistics, launched the State Planning Organization (DPT) that implemented "The First 5-Years Development Plan", arranged re-entry of the Turkish Republic in the United Nations Security Council in 1961 and moved Turkey, through his close and personal diplomatic dialogues with Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
and Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
, into the direction of European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
membership with Ankara Agreement
Ankara Agreement
The Agreement Creating An Association Between The Republic of Turkey and the European Economic Community , made in 1963, is an agreement aiming towards the accession of Turkey into the European Economic Community ....
, signed with France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
in 1963, resulting in associate membership the following year and a large Turkish workforce migration to Germany and the west Europe to assist their postwar industrial development.
When a Cypriot leader who was exiled out of the UK previously in 1956 on the basis of his "support for terrorism and being the greatest obstacle on the path of peace", threatened in November 1963 to amend basic articles of the 1960 constitution guaranteeing the rights of ethnic Turks on the island, communal violence ensued and Turkey, Great Britain and Greece, the guarantors of the agreements which had led to Cyprus' independence, wanted to send a NATO force to the island under the command of General Young. Due to the continued ethnic violence against the Cypriot Turks and mass killings of island's Turkish population under western watch, President Gursel ordered warning flights and subsequent continuous air assaults by the Turkish Air Force against the military targets of the island which continued between August 7 and 10, 1964, ending with the fulfilment of military objectives of the Guarantor Country, Turkey, and the invitation to calm by Nikita Khrushchev of USSR.
Cemal Gürsel reformed the "Teskilat-i Mahsusa", the "Special Organization" of clandestine security services to a modern National Intelligence Agency in response to and preparation against escalating international terrorism trends in 1963. He paved the way to Middle Eastern countries and Pakistan to concentrate on economic and cultural matters of mutual interest and Ankara recognized Syria following the breakup of the old United Arab Republic
United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic , often abbreviated as the U.A.R., was a sovereign union between Egypt and Syria. The union began in 1958 and existed until 1961, when Syria seceded from the union. Egypt continued to be known officially as the "United Arab Republic" until 1971. The President was Gamal...
in 1961, further reestablishing diplomatic relations with Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
in 1965. In July 1964, Pakistani President Ayub Khan, Turkish President Cemal Gürsel, and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
announced in Istanbul the establishment of the Regional Cooperation for Development
Regional Cooperation for Development
Regional Cooperation for Development was a multi-governmental organization which was originally established in 1964 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey to allow socio-economic development of the member states. In 1979, this organization was dissolved...
(RCD) organization to promote transportation and joint economic projects also envisioning Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and possibly Indonesia joining at some time in the future. He granted asylum to the political dissidents Ayatollah Khoumeini of Iran and Molla Barzani of Iraq.
Gürsel, 40 years after the foundation of the Republic, launched the first radio broadcasting station of Eastern Anatolia within the centrally located province of Erzurum, where Ankara and Istanbul radios’ transmissions were not received. He brought the Microwave
Microwave
Microwaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
Telecommunications Network into operation increasing telephone and teletype capacity along with a High-Frequency Radio Link connecting London and Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
with Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
, Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
and Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. He laid the foundations of the new agricultural and structural development plans for the south-eastern Anatolian regions in early 1960s for the first time. With his directive, The Holy Relics from Prophets Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David and Muhammad
Relics of Muhammad
Some streams of Islam have a tradition of venerating the relics attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The most genuine relics are believed to be those housed in Istanbul's Topkapı Palace, in a section known as Hirkai Serif Odasi at the start of the Twentieth century...
, including the oldest Qur'an in existence from the 7th Century were put on display from their storage rooms within the Topkapi Palace
Topkapi Palace
The Topkapı Palace is a large palace in Istanbul, Turkey, that was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years of their 624-year reign....
for public viewing for the first time on 31 August 1962. Gürsel added the first Ministry of Culture and Tourism to the cabinet. In a parallel effort of promoting the country's touristic popularity in the west, Topkapi (film)
Topkapi (film)
Topkapi is a heist film made by Filmways Pictures and distributed by United Artists. It was produced and directed by the emigre American film director, Jules Dassin...
, the movie version of the book by Eric Ambler
Eric Ambler
Eric Clifford Ambler OBE was an influential British author of spy novels who introduced a new realism to the genre. Ambler also used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for books co-written with Charles Rodda.-Life:...
that had been commissioned for the same purpose was shot in Paris and Istanbul and was introduced with success. Similarly, one of the most favorite books of John F. Kennedy, Ian Fleming's "From Russia with Love" was shot in Istanbul as the second James Bond movie, to promote turistic popularity of Turkey, with his keen interest. The Directorate of Religious Affairs network of the country was founded with his directive and became operational on 22 June 1965. He started the new procedure of returning the law proposals presented for the President's approval back to the Parliamentary re-discussions in 1963. Cemal Gürsel founded The National Security Council
National Security Council (Turkey)
The National Security Council comprises the Chief of Staff, select members of the Council of Ministers, and the President of the Republic...
(MGK) as well as the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) in 1963, appointing Professor Cahit Arf
Cahit Arf
Cahit Arf was a Turkish mathematician. He is known for the Arf invariant of a quadratic form in characteristic 2 in topology, the Hasse–Arf theorem in ramification theory, Arf semigroups, and Arf rings.-Biography:Cahit Arf was born on 11 October 1910 in Selanik , which was then...
as its first director, officially charging TUBITAK primarily with governmental advisory duty by legislation. In addition to the foundation of the Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) organization as a government agency in 1964 that brought the television broadcast to Turkey for the first time under his administration, the opening of The School of Press and Broadcasting at the College of Political Sciences in Ankara followed in November 1965. The country's new initiative of Planning of Population Growth Control was put in effect in 1965. The production of the first domestic Turkish automobile, Devrim (Revolution), took place with Cemal Gürsel's directive which sparked the initiation of an automotive industry in the republic in the following few years. The first use of a computer in the country, iron and steel mass production growth, the thermic power plant and a petrol pipeline structuring took place during his presidency. Cemal Gürsel refused remuneration for his Head of State and subsequent President positions and made his and his family's living with his retired general's salary, meeting their own expenses during their life in the Presidential Palace
Çankaya Köskü
Çankaya Köşkü or Çankaya Köşk is the official residence of the President of Turkey. It is located in the Çankaya district of Ankara, which lends its name to the palace. The name is sometimes used as a metonymy for the current president. The Çankaya Presidential Compound stretches over of land...
in Çankaya, Ankara.
Illness
Because of a paralysisParalysis
Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...
that started in early 1961 and progressed quickly in 1966, Cemal Gürsel was flown 2 February to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center was the United States Army's flagship medical center until 2011. Located on 113 acres in Washington, D.C., it served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the military...
in Washington, D.C on the private airplane "BlueBird" sent by US President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
. One week later, he fell into a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
there after suffering a series of new paralytic strokes. The government decided he return to Turkey on 24 March. In addition to issuing the following statement, President Johnson went by helicopter from the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
to Andrews Air Force Base
Andrews Air Force Base
Joint Base Andrews is a United States military facility located in Prince George's County, Maryland. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 11th Wing, Air Force District of Washington ....
, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., to pay his respects to President Cemal Gürsel on his departure to home. 'Our distinguished friend, President Cemal Gursel of Turkey, came to the United States on February 2 for medical treatment. There was hope that new therapeutic procedures only recently developed in this country would be useful in treating his illness of several years. We were initially encouraged by his progress at Walter Reed Hospital, only to be shocked by the news on February 8 that his health had suffered a grave new blow. Our best talent, coupled with the skill of the eminent Turkish doctors who accompanied the President, was exerted to the utmost in the hope that the President might return to his home in fully restored health. We are saddened that this hope was not to be realized. We have been deeply honored to have President Gursel come to our country to seek medical treatment. As he returns to his homeland, our prayers go with him'. With a report of a medical committee by Gülhane Military Hospital in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, the parliament ruled on 28 March 1966 that his presidency be terminated due to ill health in accordance with the constitution. He died of apoplexy
Apoplexy
Apoplexy is a medical term, which can be used to describe 'bleeding' in a stroke . Without further specification, it is rather outdated in use. Today it is used only for specific conditions, such as pituitary apoplexy and ovarian apoplexy. In common speech, it is used non-medically to mean a state...
at 0645hrs on 14 September 1966 in Ankara. He left behind no directives or last will. He was laid to rest at the "Freedom Martyrs Memorial" section in the yard of the mausoleum of Atatürk
Anitkabir
Anıtkabir is the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish War of Independence and the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey...
. His body was transferred on 27 August 1988 to a permanent burial place in the newly built Turkish State Cemetery
Turkish State Cemetery
Turkish State Cemetery is a national and military cemetery in Ankara, Turkey, containing the graves of the presidents of Turkey and the high-ranked, close companions-in-arms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, in the Turkish War of Independence.- History :The cemetery...
.
Legacy
Among all of his achievements and great modesty in his down-to-earth plain demeanor, he tried to place the most emphasis on the need for a well-educated youth and a hard-working population with high standards of ethicsEthics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
for a westernized democratic progress in Atatürk's tradition(commentary by Imran Oktem, Chief Supreme Court Justice - Yargitay, 1966). His portrait as a statesman and soldier remained next to Atatürk's in most homes in Turkey for a long time. Erzurum Cemal Gürsel Stadium, some schools and streets were named after him. The developments during his term were described as the "Turkish Revolution" which was celebrated annually on 27 May as the Constitution Day until 1981. In 2002, a commemorative coin was released for the same. In 2008, the movie "The Cars of Revolution" was released in his memory. Cemal Gursel is survived by two grand-daughters, Özdem and Melkan.
About him
- "I took over the administration of the state to stop the tragic course of events." (Cemal Gursel, radio address on the evening of 27 May 1960)
- "The network was ready. I personally did not want the army to intervene and had been stopping the attempts (of takeover) of my younger friends. Things reached to such a state that despite my belief that the army should not interfere I let them free in their duties. Now my only goal is to reinstate an administration built on the principles of justice and ethics." (Cemal Gürsel, An interview. Cumhuriyet, 16 July 1960)
- "Those who follow Atatürk will not be left behind." (Cemal Gürsel, from the address on the occasion of anniversary of Atatürk's death, 10 November 1963)
- "General Gursel may be described as the father of the second Turkish Republic similar to Atatürk being the father of modern Turkey. At a time of deep division, Gursel earned and maintained the respect of the Turkish Nation that regarded him as the symbol of national unity. When he passed away, he had the identity of the trusted father of the nation." (Prof. Bernard LewisBernard LewisBernard Lewis, FBA is a British-American historian, scholar in Oriental studies, and political commentator. He is the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University...
, 15 September 1966)
- "A few days before the coup, it was known that the coup was imminent but General Cemal Gursel was dismissed as a non-political general. No leading role by General Cemal Gursel was determined despite the foreknowledge of the plot." (The CIA; The Inside Story by Andrew Tully, pages 51, 53. Crest books, 1962)
- "On May 27, he (Cemal Gursel) was hurriedly requested to come (from his residence in İzmir) to the capital (Ankara) to assume the leadership of National Unity Committee." (The Turkish Revolution, Aspects of Military politics. By Walter Weiker. pages 121, 122. The Brookings Institution, 1963)
- "When May 27 revolt occurred, Cemal Gürsel was not a participant. He was invited to become the head due to the circumstances and he willingly accepted." (Burhan Felek, MilliyetMilliyetMilliyet is a major Turkish daily newspaper founded in 1950.-History:Milliyet came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 May 1950...
, Page 2, 18 September 1971)
- "General Gürsel was brought in to the NUC chairmanship by the revolution team when he was in retirement preparation. In actuality he was in the position of a chairman found in last minute with a hurried search. He never was the responsible leader for a true leader is not to be appointed but is self-appointed." (By a leading member of the NUC)
- "One of the core players of the coup, Orhan Erkanli told that they revolted on May 27 without knowing what to do on May 28. No one, including Cemal Gürsel knew who and how many would be forming the NUC. In actuality, even Cemal Gursel was brought in later." (Years of Ismet Pasha of our Democracy, 1960-61 by Metin Toker, page 25. Bilgi. 1998)
- "It is now known that the coup was the result of years of planning on the part of conspirators, a number of radical colonels and ranks below in their early forties. He (Cemal Gürsel) was not involved in the details of the organization of the coup d'étatCoup d'étatA coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. When the coup had succeeded, he was brought to AnkaraAnkaraAnkara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
." (Turkey, A modern History by Erik ZurcherErik ZürcherErik Zürcher was a Dutch Sinologist.From 1962-1993, Zürcher was a professor of history of East Asia at the Leiden University. He was also Director of the Sinological Institute, between 1975 and 1990. His Chinese name was Xǔ Lǐhe .- Biography :He studied Sinology, Buddhism, specializing in Chinese...
. pages 253,254. I.B. TaurisI.B. TaurisI. B. Tauris is an independent publishing house with offices in London and New York.-History:I.B.Tauris was founded in 1983. Its declared strategy was to fill the perceived gap between trade publishing houses and university presses—that is, to publish serious but accessible works on international...
, 2003)
- "We just see that a few very important lines in his letter (to the Minister of Defence) had been censored. That means we are going without learning the true history, without knowing who knows what facts and what true pictures of turning points." (Çetin AltanÇetin AltanÇetin Altan, is a Turkish writer, journalist, and a former member of parliament.-Biography:After graduating from Galatasaray High School, he received BA in Law in Ankara University. His first book was published in 1946. Altan accepted Abdi İpekçi's offer in 1959 and became a journalist in Milliyet...
, Author, Journalist, September 2006)
- "An extremely important document that sheds light on the past has been revealed. Testimony from eyewitnesses at the time helped make known that the letter had been modified after May 27, but the location of the original letter was unknown. This important document adds a new dimension to the May 27 revolution. We have come face to face with a new document that changes our written history. It was my greatest wish to obtain just such a document; not for my own satisfaction, but for my father, to prove this reality and obtain genuine evidence. I was thrilled when I heard about this." (Mr Aydın Menderes, Author, the Son of Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, September 2006)
- "They cut off our phone lines. Adnan Menderes was hung against the regulations. I was supposed to oversee the execution. The revolution tribunal's chief prosecutor Altay Egesel conducted the execution despite not being authorized. İsmet İnönü and Cemal Gürsel were already phoning for him (Adnan Menderes) not to be executed but the telecommunications' office cut off the lines and Egesel made use of the (communication) gap to conduct the execution." (Mehmet Feyyat, District Attorney General, Istanbul Province Prosecutor General 1961, The Administrator of the Imrali Prison, The Lawyer of the Year, Senator. (Reported by Özkan GÜVEN, STAR Newspaper, 13 November 2006 with a summary in Turkish at Law in the Capitol)
- "Where are we now and where are the nations such as Portugal, Greece and Spain with whom we departed for the competition of development in 1960s? While we still crawl around $5000 per capita income, they have caught $20K pci a long while ago. In one word, an embarrassment." (Hasan Cemal, Milliyet, October 2006)
- "We built an automobile with the mentality of the West and we forgot to put gasoline in it with the mentality of the East." (Cemal Gürsel, President, on the Anniversary of the Turkish Republic, 29 October 1963)
- "January 9, 1961
Dear General Gursel:
It is a great pleasure for me to send greetings to you and to the Turkish people on the occasion of the opening of the Turkish Constituent Assembly. This historic event is a further tangible demonstration of Turkish dedication to democratic ideals and of its determination to build a solid foundation for the future. Please extend my best wishes to the members of this Assembly for the success of the important work on which they are embarking.
Sincerely,"
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
- 29 October 1961
"Dear Mr. President:
I congratulate you on your election as President of the Republic of Turkey. I also wish to congratulate, in the name of the United States Government and its people, the Turkish Government and people for their success in promulgating a new constitution and in establishing a freely-elected Grand National Assembly. As you assume your Presidential responsibilities, let me assure you of my country's dedication to the firm friendship and co-operation which have consistently characterized Turco-American relations. We are united in our aims of preserving the security of our homelands and creating a world where mankind can live in peace and freedom. In these cherished causes, we are proud to work side by side with the Government and people of Turkey. Please accept my warmest greetings and best wishes.
Sincerely",
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
- 25 October 1963
"Dear Mr President Gursel:
I send warm greetings to you and the Turkish people on this fortieth anniversary of the founding of the Republic. The United States is proud of its association with Turkey in an alliance that rests on common aspirations and mutual interests. The American people admire the resolute spirit and manifest courage of the Turkish people. To this end, we welcome Turkey's new five-year development program, and wish it the fullest success. We will continue to hold firmly to this policy of cooperation, which has so greatly advanced our common interests and added so much to the defensive strength of the free world.
Sincerely,"
John F. Kennedy
- 22 November 1963
The Times, London
President Cemal Gursel described President Kennedy on the radio tonight as "a pioneer in the great struggles of humanity, a determined fighter for world peace and a firm friend of the Turkish Nation. Every Turkish family feels a personal grief at this horrible crime" he said.
- Message to President SunayCevdet SunayCevdet Sunay was a Turkish army officer, political leader and the fifth President of Turkey.He was born in 1899 in Çaykara, Trabzon Province, in the Ottoman Empire. After attending elementary school and middle school in Erzurum and Edirne, he graduated from Kuleli Military High School in Istanbul...
of Turkey
"Dear Mr. President:
I extend to you and to the government and people of Turkey my condolences and those of my fellow Americans on the passing of former President Cemal Gursel.
We are all saddened at the loss of this good man, whose ideals and accomplishments we have long respected. He was a wise and valiant leader, dedicated to the preservation of democracy and the safety of his nation and the Free World.
The close ties of friendship existing between our two countries make us feel the more deeply Turkey's loss. Our hearts are with you in your sorrow.
Sincerely,"
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
- Message to Mrs. Cemal Gursel
"Dear Mrs. Gursel:
Mrs. Johnson and I extend our heartfelt sympathy on the passing of your distinguished husband. The memory of his lifetime as a soldier and statesman in the service of the highest ideals will be a legacy of inspiration to us all. We in America share your bereavement in the loss of this great and good man. You can be assured that our thoughts and prayers were always with him in his illness and that they are now with you in your grief.
Sincerely,"
Lyndon B. Johnson
A number of people from those of the old
And a few from those of later times
Brothers facing each other on thrones of dignity
No pettiness will they hear in there
And not even a little of sinful talk
Only the saying "Peace! Peace!" (56:13-26; 15:47)
Media
- The sound file of the message by President John F. Kennedy on Kemal Atatürk, 1963
- The Text of the message by President John F. Kennedy on Atatürk
- The sound file of the message by President Cemal Gürsel on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, November 10, 1963)