The
Motherland Party of Turkey,
is a
political partyA political party is a political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns...
in
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
. It was founded in 1983 by
Turgut ÖzalHalil Turgut Özal was a Turkish political leader, prime minister and the 8th president of Turkey. As prime minister, he transformed the economy of Turkey by paving the way for the privatization of many state enterprises. This improved relations with the western world, especially the United States...
. The ANAP is considered a
centre-rightThe centre-right , also known as right of center, is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances...
nationalist party which supported restrictions on the role that government can play in the economy, which favours private capital and enterprise, and which allows for some public expressions of religion.
The ANAP maintained a majority in the government of Turkey from 1983 until 1993.
The
Motherland Party of Turkey,
is a
political partyA political party is a political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns...
in
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
. It was founded in 1983 by
Turgut ÖzalHalil Turgut Özal was a Turkish political leader, prime minister and the 8th president of Turkey. As prime minister, he transformed the economy of Turkey by paving the way for the privatization of many state enterprises. This improved relations with the western world, especially the United States...
. The ANAP is considered a
centre-rightThe centre-right , also known as right of center, is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances...
nationalist party which supported restrictions on the role that government can play in the economy, which favours private capital and enterprise, and which allows for some public expressions of religion.
The ANAP maintained a majority in the government of Turkey from 1983 until 1993. Turgut Özal held the position of Prime Minister from 1983 to 1989, then
PresidentThe President of Turkey is the head of state of the Republic of Turkey. In this capacity he represents the Republic of Turkey, and the unity of the Turkish nation; he ensures the implementation of the Turkish constitution, and the organized and harmonious functioning of the organs of state...
from 1989 to 1993. During this time, the ANAP leaders transformed the Turkish economy by beginning free-market reforms, particularly cutting down the public area and moving towards privately owned business. In 1987, the ANAP-led government filed for admission into the
European Economic CommunityThe European Economic Community was an international organisation that existed between 1958 and 1993 which was created to bring about economic integration between Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.It was...
, the forerunner of the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
. However, this attempt to enter the EEC was ended when the ANAP criticized the Customs Union of the EEC and decided the admission terms prescribed by the EEC were not in the best interest of Turkey or its people.
After its longest run, the ANAP has had few opportunities to return to leadership. In 1995, The Motherland party formed a brief coalition with the
True Path PartyThe Democratic Party is a right-wing, conservative Turkish political party, established by Suleyman Demirel in 1983 as the True Path Party...
(DYP), another centre-right oriented party, that allowed their influence to return for a short period of time. Then, from July 1997 to November 1998, the ANAP was returned to the head of government with the leader
Mesut YılmazAhmet Mesut Yılmaz is the former leader of the Motherland Party and was the Turkish prime minister in the 1990s....
. However, The ANAP suffered one of the largest defeats during the April 1999 elections and became the fourth largest political party in Turkey with only 14% of the votes. Following these elections, ANAP received only 86 of 365 seats in the Parliament. During the 2002 elections, they got only 5.12% of the votes and no seats in Parliament.
Since 2008, its new president has been
Salih UzunMehmet Salih Uzun is a Turkish politician and the current leader of the Motherland Party .-Biography:Uzun was born in the northwestern Anatolian town of Gölcük in Kocaeli Province...
.
In 5 May 2007, it was announced that ANAP and
True Path PartyThe Democratic Party is a right-wing, conservative Turkish political party, established by Suleyman Demirel in 1983 as the True Path Party...
would merge to the Democrat Party (Demokrat Parti). However, this failed and ANAP announced that they wouldn't present themselves for the upcoming elections.
Leaders
The chief executive member of the party is called the
Genel Başkan. He/She is elected by party delegates in biennial party congresses. The party had seven leaders since its foundation in 1983:
- Turgut Özal
Halil Turgut Özal was a Turkish political leader, prime minister and the 8th president of Turkey. As prime minister, he transformed the economy of Turkey by paving the way for the privatization of many state enterprises. This improved relations with the western world, especially the United States...
(May 20, 1983 - October 31, 1989)
- Yıldırım Akbulut
Yıldırım Akbulut is a Turkish politician, who was a leader of the Anavatan Partisi , a former Prime Minister of Turkey and twice the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.-Biography:...
(November 16, 1989 - June 15, 1991)
- Mesut Yılmaz
Ahmet Mesut Yılmaz is the former leader of the Motherland Party and was the Turkish prime minister in the 1990s....
(June 15, 1991 - November 4, 2002)
- Ali Talip Özdemir
Ali Talip Özdemir is a Turkish politician and the former leader of the Motherland Party .He was born in the Central Anatolian town of Ereğli in Konya Province into a family with 12 children. His father Hüsnü Özdemir was a worker in the state-owned Sümerbank factory...
(November 18, 2002 - October 3, 2003)
- Nesrin Nas
Nesrin Nas is a Turkish academic in economics, politician and the former leader of the Motherland Party .She was born in the Central Anatolian town of Bünyan in Kayseri Province. Her father was Mehmet Secaattin and her mother Şerife...
(October 15, 2003 - March 21, 2005)
- Erkan Mumcu
Erkan Mumcu is a Turkish politician and the sixth leader of the Motherland Party .-Biography:...
(April 2, 2005 - October 26, 2008)
- Salih Uzun
Mehmet Salih Uzun is a Turkish politician and the current leader of the Motherland Party .-Biography:Uzun was born in the northwestern Anatolian town of Gölcük in Kocaeli Province...
(October 26, 2008 - present)
(During periods between the resignation or incapacitation of a leader and the election of a new one, the central committee of the party collectively acts as leader.)