Bülent Ecevit

Bülent Ecevit (born the May 28th 1925 with Istanbul, dead the November 5th 2006 with Ankara) was a journalist, a poet and a Turkish politician who occupied the function of Prime Minister four times.

Biography

He was born the May 28th 1925 in a middle-class family from Istanbul. He passes his baccalaureat in 1944 in an American college, the Robert College of Istanbul. With Ankara it makes studies of English Littérature. Then it continues its studies with London or it studies there the history of the Art the Sanskrit and the Bengali . It began its political career in 1957 in the party from center-left CHP (Republican party of the People). In 1959, it is elected regional chief of the CHP in the mine field of Zonguldak.

In 1961 it obtains its first post of minister, the president of the CHP İsmet İnönü, appoints it Minister for Labor until in 1965. Ecevit is somebody of ambitious who very quickly climbs the levels of the party, thus in 1966 it is elected general secretary and it directs the party still more on the left, persuaded that democratic socialism is the best means of defending oneself vis-a-vis the Communisme.

Ecevit resigns of its station in March 1971, because of the support of its party for the government of Nihat Erim, supports in reaction to the military coup d'etat against Süleyman Demirel. Ecevit complained about the implication of the soldiers in the businesses of the State.

One year later, Ecevit takes again the head of the CHP, and gains the legislative elections of 1973. In 1974, it founds with the Party of the national hello (MSP) of islamist the Necmettin Erbakan, a short government coalition which removes the prohibition of the production of opium. This same government invades Cyprus to protect the Turkish minority after the coup d'etat from the generals in Greece, which makes of him a national hero. Ecevit withdraws in 1974 government, leaving its place to Demirel.

In 1978, it forms another government while promising to put an end to the economic crisis and to put an end to the rise political violence. It was a failure, its mandate was marked by a rise of Kurdish terrorism and by a deterioration of the economy what forced it to resign. It is thus withdrawn again in 1979, and it is replaced again by Süleyman Demirel.

After the military coup d'etat of the September 12th 1980, the CHP is prohibited. Bülent Ecevit must have patience until in 1987 to be able to take again its political activities. It founds DSP.

He thus becomes chief of the Party of the democratic left (DSP) and he takes part in the government coalition with ANAP (Left the motherland) a political party of center right. From July 1997 in November 1998 it occupies the post of vice Prime Minister. The arrest of the leader of Kurdish Abdullah Öcalan makes it very popular. So much so that the DSP becomes the first political party of the country.

It returns to the capacity the June 9th 1999, its mandate was marked by scandals policy, the earthquake which made 20.000 died and which made burst at the great day the corruption which gangrene Turkey, and the great economic crisis of the year 2000 and 2001, which led the Turkish economy to the quasi bankruptcy.

Very sick Bülent Ecevit by its age, continues to cling to the capacity. The May 4th 2002 Ecevit is hospitalized and it absent from the government during nearly two months. The June 25th 2002 of the deputies of the DSP requires of Ecevit to resign and the Prime Minister convenes anticipated elections which took place the November 3rd 2002. Its party the DSP crumbles hardly obtaining 1,22% of the voices at the time of the elections of the November 3rd 2002 with the profit of AKP of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

In 2004, Bülent Ecevit withdraws public life and it publishes works of poetry of policy and translation. It translates in particular authors like Thomas Stearns Eliot and Rabîndranâth Tagore. He dies the November 5th 2006, in a military hospital of Ankara where he was hospitalized since May, following a Brain hemorrhage occurred at the time of the funeral of a judge assassinated by an islamist attack.

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