Short facts about the government of Turkey

Country name:

conventional long form:  Republic of Turkey conventional short form:  Turkey local long form:  Turkiye Cumhuriyeti local short form:  Turkiye

Government type:

republican parliamentary democracy

Capital:

Ankara

Administrative divisions:

80 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak; note - there may be another province called Duzce

Independence:

29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 29 October (1923)

Constitution:

7 November 1982

Legal system:

derived from various European continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state:  President Ahmed Necdet SEZER (since 16 May 2000) head of government:  Prime Minister Bulent ECEVIT (since 11 January 1999) cabinet:  Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister note:  there is also a National Security Council that serves as an advisory body to the president and the cabinet elections:  president elected by the National Assembly for a seven-year term; election last held 5 May 2000 (next scheduled to be held NA May 2007); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president election results:  Ahmed Necdet SEZER elected president on the third ballot; percent of National Assembly vote - 60% note:  president must have a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly on the first two ballots and a simple majority on the third ballot

Legislative branch:

unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections:  last held 18 April 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results:  percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - DSP 136, MHP 130, FP 110, DYP 86, ANAP 88; note - as of 7 March 2000 seating was DSP 136, MHP 127, FP 103, DYP 85, ANAP 88 independents 6, vacancies 5

Judicial branch:

Constitutional Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeals (judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors)

Political parties and leaders:

Democratic Left Party or DSP [Bulent ECEVIT]; Motherland Party or ANAP [Mesut YILMAZ]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; True Path Party or DYP [Tansu CILLER]; Virtue Party or FP [Recai KUTAN]; note - in June 2001, Turkey's Constitutional Court banned the party; its representatives (except for two) can stay on in the Grand National Assembly as independents note:  Welfare Party or RP [Necmettin ERBAKAN] was officially outlawed on 22 February 1998

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Ridvan BUDAK]; Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Erol YARAR]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Muharrem KAYHAN]; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Refik BAYDUR]; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Bayram MERAL]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [Fuat MIRAS]

International organization participation:

AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UPU, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission:  Ambassador Baki ILKIN chancery:  2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone:  [1] (202) 612-6700 FAX:  [1] (202) 612-6744 consulate(s) general:  Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission:  Ambassador Robert PEARSON embassy:  Ataturk Bulvarii 110, Ankara mailing address:  PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone:  [90] (312) 468-6110 FAX:  [90] (312) 467-0019 consulate(s) general:  Istanbul (closed as of December 2000 for security review) consulate(s):  Adana (closed as of December 2000 for security review)

Flag description:

red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening

Source: World Factbook