View source for Prime Minister of Turkey

{{short description|Head of government of the Turkish government (1920–2018)}}
{{For|a list of officeholders of the Republic of Turkey|List of prime ministers of Turkey}}

{{Infobox official post
| post = Prime Minister
| body = <br />the Republic of Turkey
| native_name = {{native name|tr|Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanı}}
| insignia = 
| insigniasize = 
| insigniacaption = Seal of the Prime Minister used until 2018
| insigniaalt = 
| flag = 
| flagsize = 
| flagalt = 
| flagborder = 
| flagcaption = 
| image = File:Portrait of Binali Yıldırım (cropped).jpg
| imagesize = 
| alt = 
| imagecaption = '''Last served<br />[[Binali Yıldırım]]'''<br />24 May 2016 – 9 July 2018
| incumbent = 
| acting = 
| incumbentsince = 
| department = [[Government of Turkey#Executive branch|Executive branch of the Turkish Government]]
| style = 
| type = Head of government
| status = Abolished
| abbreviation = 
| member_of = [[Cabinet of Turkey]]<br/>[[National Security Council (Turkey)|National Security Council]]
| reports_to = [[Grand National Assembly of Turkey|The Parliament]]
| residence = Prime Ministry Building<br />{{small|(1925–1937)}}<br />Başbakanlık Konutu<br />{{small|(1937–2014)}}<br />[[Çankaya Mansion]]<br />{{small|(2014–2018)}}
| seat = 
| nominator = 
| appointer = The [[President of Turkey|president]]
| appointer_qualified = In accordance with voting in the [[Grand National Assembly of Turkey|Grand National Assembly]]
| termlength = 5 years (same as the term of [[Grand National Assembly of Turkey|Grand National Assembly]])
| termlength_qualified = While commanding the majority in the parliament. No term limits are imposed on the office.
| constituting_instrument = [[Constitution of Turkey]]
| precursor = [[Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire]]
| formation = 3 May 1920 (Ankara Government)<br/>1 November 1923 (Republic)
| first = [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] ([[Government of the Grand National Assembly|Ankara Government]])<br />[[İsmet İnönü]] (Republic)
| last = [[Binali Yıldırım]]
| abolished = [[2017 Turkish constitutional referendum|9 July 2018]]
| superseded_by = [[Vice President of Turkey|Vice President]]
| succession = 
| unofficial_names = 
| deputy = [[Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey|Deputy Prime Minister]]
| salary = 
| website = {{url|http://www.basbakanlik.gov.tr/|www.basbakanlik.gov.tr}}
| footnotes = 
}}

{{Politics of Turkey}}The '''prime minister of Turkey''', officially the '''prime minister of the Republic of Turkey''' ({{langx|tr|Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanı}}), was the [[head of government]] of the [[Turkey|Republic of Turkey]] from 1920 to 2018, who led a political coalition in the [[Grand National Assembly of Turkey|Turkish Parliament]] and presided over the [[Cabinet of Turkey|cabinet]]. Throughout the political history of Turkey, functions and powers of the post have changed occasionally. Prior to its dissolution as a result of the [[2017 Turkish constitutional referendum|2017 Constitutional Referendum]], the holder of the premiership was generally the dominant figure in Turkish politics, outweighing the [[President of Turkey|president]].

==History of the premiership==
===Ottoman era===
{{Main articles|List of Ottoman grand viziers}}
In the Ottoman Empire, the prime minister of the [[Ottoman sultan]] held the title of [[Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire|Grand Vizier]] ({{langx|tr|Sadrazam}}), though in the 19th century, some heads of government were appointed with the title Prime Minister, ({{langx|tr|Başnazır}}). Starting in the 1830s, Grand Viziers began to minister cabinets. After the [[Tanzimat]] period in the 19th century, the grand viziers came to assume a role more like that of the [[prime minister]]s of contemporary Western European monarchies. Later, with the [[Ottoman constitution of 1876]], a [[General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire|parliament]] was established to oversee the grand vizier. With the constitutional amendments that took place during the [[Second Constitutional Era]], the grand vizier was made answerable to the parliament rather than the sultan.

===Government of the Grand National Assembly===
After the establishment of the [[Grand National Assembly of Turkey|Grand National Assembly]] in [[Ankara]] by the [[Turkish National Movement]], the [[1st Parliament of Turkey|1st Parliament]] instituted a new government called "The Cabinet of the Executive Ministers" (Turkish: ''İcra Vekilleri Heyeti).'' The post was then held by the [[Speaker of the Grand National Assembly|Speaker of the Parliament]], who presided over the cabinet ''ex-officio''.

===Modern republic===
'''One-party period (1923–1945)'''

Following the declaration of the republic, the existing constitution of 1921 was amended, conferring the executive authority and the privilege to oversee governmental affairs to the prime minister, who was to be appointed by the [[President of Turkey|president of the republic]]. 

Although the Presidency was established as a symbolic office with the president being unaccountable for his actions, Presidents [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]] and [[İsmet İnönü|İnönü]] had exercised executive authority as the leader of their [[Republican People's Party|party]] during [[One-party period of the Republic of Turkey|the one-party]] period.

'''Multi-party period (1945–2018)''' 

Prior to the [[1950 Turkish general election|general election held in 1950]], the constitution was amended, disallowing the president-elect to remain the leader of their political party. These amendments resulted in the prime minister becoming the dominant figure in [[Politics of Turkey|Turkish politics]], sharply diminishing the role of the president. 

After Prime Minister Adnan Menderes was ousted from power as a result of the [[1960 Turkish coup d'état]], the newly promulgated [[Turkish Constitution of 1961|Constitution of 1961]] reduced the powers of the government considerably, strengthening parliamentary supervision over the cabinet. These features of the constitution resulted in a fractured political system, causing many short-lived coalition governments to be formed until 1980. 

In the aftermath of the [[1980 Turkish coup d'état]], the [[Constitution of Turkey|Constitution of 1982]] (still in use) was implemented. Even though the Constitution of 1982 was quite similar to its predecessor, there were new measures taken to avoid the formation of short-lived coalition governments. These measures included the introduction of 10% electoral threshold, unicameral parliamentary structure, and enforced executive powers. Along with broad executive powers being vested in the post of the prime minister, the realm of authority of the cabinet ministries (with the exclusion of the prime ministry) was drastically reduced, placing the ministers under the direct supervision of the prime minister. 

Later on, numerous amendments were made on the constitution, with the ones of paramount importance being the [[2007 Turkish constitutional referendum|2007]], [[2010 Turkish constitutional referendum|2010]], and [[2017 Turkish constitutional referendum|2017]]. Some of the changes approved by public vote were highly controversial. 

According to some, [[2014 Turkish presidential election|the direct election of the president for the first time in 2014]] resulted in a de facto transition into a [[semi-presidential system]], bringing an end to the prime minister's dominant authority in Turkish politics.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Karagöz|first=Serdar|date=2014-04-14|title=De facto semi-presidential system and Erdoğan|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/columns/serdar_karagoz/2014/04/14/de-facto-semipresidential-system-and-erdogan|access-date=2020-09-08|website=Daily Sabah|language=en|archive-date=2020-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129050625/https://www.dailysabah.com/columns/serdar_karagoz/2014/04/14/de-facto-semipresidential-system-and-erdogan|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the [[2018 Turkish general election|general elections in 2018]], constitutional amendments approved in the [[2017 Turkish constitutional referendum|2017 referendum]] officially took effect, marking the end of 98 years of parliamentary governance in Turkey.

[[File:Basbakanlik logo.jpg|alt=|thumb|203x203px|Seal of the prime minister, in use between 2015 until the office was abolished in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Başbakanlık logosu değişti (Başbakanlığın yeni logosu)|url=https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/basbakanlik-logosu-degisti-basbakanligin-yeni-logosu-29736786|access-date=2020-07-12|website=www.hurriyet.com.tr|language=tr|archive-date=2020-07-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712143919/https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/basbakanlik-logosu-degisti-basbakanligin-yeni-logosu-29736786|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

==Timeline==
<timeline>
ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:12
PlotArea  = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20
AlignBars = late
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period     = from:01/01/1920 till:09/07/2018
TimeAxis   = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1920
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:2  start:1920
Colors     =
  id:ind   value:rgb(0.8,0.8,0.8)
BarData =
  bar:Atatürk
  bar:Çakmak
  bar:Orbay
  bar:Okyar
  bar:İnönü
  bar:Bayar
  bar:Saydam
  bar:Saracoğlu
  bar:Peker
  bar:Saka
  bar:Günaltay
  bar:Menderes
  bar:Gürsel
  bar:Ürgüplü
  bar:Demirel
  bar:Erim
  bar:Melen
  bar:Talu
  bar:Ecevit 
  bar:Irmak
  bar:Feyzioğlu
  bar:Ulusu
  bar:Özal
  bar:Akbulut
  bar:Yılmaz
  bar:Çiller
  bar:Erbakan
  bar:Gül
  bar:Erdoğan
  bar:Davutoğlu
  bar:Yıldırım

PlotData=
  width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till
  bar:Atatürk
 from: 03/05/1920 till: 24/01/1921 color:red text:"[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Çakmak
 from: 24/01/1921 till: 09/06/1922 color:red text:"[[Fevzi Çakmak|Çakmak]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Orbay
 from: 12/06/1922 till: 04/08/1923 color:red text:"[[Rauf Orbay|Orbay]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Okyar
 from: 14/08/1923 till: 27/10/1923 color:red
 from: 21/11/1924 till: 06/03/1925 color:red text:"[[Ali Fethi Okyar|Okyar]]" fontsize:10
  bar:İnönü
 from: 01/11/1923 till: 21/11/1924 color:red 
 from: 06/03/1925 till: 27/09/1937 color:red
 from: 20/11/1961 till: 20/02/1965 color:red text:"[[İsmet İnönü|İnönü]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Bayar
 from: 27/09/1937 till: 25/01/1939 color:red text:"[[Celal Bayar|Bayar]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Saydam
 from: 25/01/1939 till: 09/07/1942 color:red text:"[[Refik Saydam|Saydam]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Saracoğlu
 from: 09/07/1942 till: 07/08/1946 color:red text:"[[Şükrü Saracoğlu|Saracoğlu]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Peker
 from: 07/08/1946 till: 09/09/1947 color:red text:"[[Recep Peker|Peker]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Saka
 from: 10/09/1947 till: 16/01/1949 color:red text:"[[Hasan Saka|Saka]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Günaltay
 from: 16/01/1949 till: 22/05/1950 color:red text:"[[Şemsettin Günaltay|Günaltay]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Menderes
 from: 22/05/1950 till: 27/05/1960 color:blue text:"[[Adnan Menderes|Menderes]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Gürsel
 from: 28/05/1960 till: 05/01/1961 color:ind text:"[[Cemal Gürsel|Gürsel]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Ürgüplü
 from: 20/02/1965 till: 27/10/1965 color:ind text:"[[Suat Hayri Ürgüplü|Ürgüplü]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Demirel
 from: 27/10/1965 till: 26/03/1971 color:green 
 from: 31/03/1975 till: 21/06/1977 color:green 
 from: 21/07/1977 till: 05/01/1978 color:green 
 from: 12/11/1979 till: 20/09/1980 color:green 
 from: 20/11/1991 till: 16/05/1993 color:purple text:"[[Süleyman Demirel|Demirel]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Erim
 from: 26/03/1971 till: 17/04/1972 color:ind text:"[[Nihat Erim|Erim]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Melen
 from: 17/04/1972 till: 15/04/1973 color:yellow text:"[[Ferit Melen|Melen]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Talu
 from: 15/04/1973 till: 25/01/1974 color:ind text:"[[Naim Talu|Talu]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Ecevit 
 from: 25/01/1974 till: 17/11/1974 color:red 
 from: 21/06/1977 till: 21/07/1977 color:red 
 from: 05/01/1978 till: 12/11/1979 color:red 
 from: 11/01/1999 till: 18/11/2002 color:red text:"[[Bülent Ecevit|Ecevit]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Irmak
 from: 17/11/1974 till: 31/03/1975 color:ind text:"[[Sadi Irmak|Irmak]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Feyzioğlu
 from: 12/09/1980 till: 12/09/1980 color:orange text: "[[Turhan Feyzioğlu|Feyzioğlu]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Ulusu
 from: 20/09/1980 till: 13/12/1983 color:ind text:"[[Bülend Ulusu|Ulusu]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Özal
 from: 13/12/1983 till: 31/10/1989 color:yellow text:"[[Turgut Özal|Özal]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Akbulut
 from: 09/11/1989 till: 23/06/1991 color:yellow text:"[[Yıldırım Akbulut|Akbulut]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Yılmaz
 from: 23/06/1991 till: 20/11/1991 color:yellow 
 from: 06/03/1996 till: 28/06/1996 color:yellow 
 from: 30/06/1997 till: 11/01/1999 color:yellow text:"[[Mesut Yılmaz|Yılmaz]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Çiller
 from: 25/06/1993 till: 06/03/1996 color:purple text:"[[Tansu Çiller|Çiller]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Erbakan
 from: 28/06/1996 till: 30/06/1997 color:orange text:"[[Necmettin Erbakan|Erbakan]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Gül
 from: 18/11/2002 till: 14/03/2003 color:orange text:"[[Abdullah Gül|Gül]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Erdoğan
 from: 14/03/2003 till: 28/08/2014 color:orange text:"[[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Erdoğan]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Davutoğlu
 from: 28/08/2014 till: 24/05/2016 color:orange text:"[[Ahmet Davutoğlu|Davutoğlu]]" fontsize:10
  bar:Yıldırım
 from: 24/05/2016 till: 09/07/2018 color:orange text:"[[Binali Yıldırım|Yıldırım]]" fontsize:10
</timeline>

==See also==
*[[Air transports of heads of state and government#Turkey|Air transports of heads of state and government]]
*[[Official state car#Turkey|Official state car]]
*[[List of prime ministers of Turkey]]
*[[President of Turkey]]
**[[List of presidents of Turkey]]
*[[Vice President of Turkey]]
*[[Constitution of Turkey]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20180711150613/http://www.basbakanlik.gov.tr/ The Prime Minister's Office]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101201041755/http://www.tbmm.gov.tr/anayasa.htm Official Turkish Constitution]
*{{Cite web|title=Prime Minister Central Building history (Turkish)|url=https://emlakkulisi.com/basbakanlik-merkez-binasi-muzeye-donusturulecek/185052}}

{{Prime Ministers of Turkey}}
{{Ministries of Turkey}}
{{Prime Minister}}
{{Turkey topics}}

[[Category:Prime ministers of Turkey| ]]
[[Category:1920 establishments in the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:2018 disestablishments in Turkey]]
[[Category:Heads of government of Turkey]]
[[Category:Defunct government ministries of Turkey]]