Ecevit, Bülent

born May 28, 1925, Constantinople, Tur.

Turkish poet, journalist, and politician.

A writer for the newspaper of the Republican People's Party (RPP), he was elected as a RPP member to the Turkish parliament in 1957. As minister of labour (1961–65), he made the strike a legal weapon for labour for the first time in Turkish history. He became head of the RPP in 1972 and served as prime minister of Turkey, first in the 1970s and later from 1999 to 2002. As head of government, he declared an amnesty for all political prisoners and in 1974 authorized Turkey's military intervention in Cyprus after the Greek-led coup on that island.

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▪ 2007

 Turkish poet, journalist, and politician (b. May 28, 1925, Constantinople [now Istanbul], Turkey—d. Nov. 5, 2006, Ankara, Turkey), intermittently served as prime minister of Turkey (1974, 1977, 1978–79, and 1999–2002). A staunch secularist, Ecevit pledged to curb the growing influence of Islam in Turkish politics. He also authorized (July 20, 1974) Turkey's military intervention in Cyprus after the Greek-led coup on that island. He faced ongoing economic and political problems, notably opposition to reforms intended to ease the path for Turkey's admittance into the European Union, and failed to achieve a stable government. Ecevit attended the American Robert College in Istanbul and served (1946–50) as an embassy official in London before returning to Ankara as a newspaper journalist. He was first elected to the National Assembly for the Republican People's Party (RPP) in 1957, and he gradually emerged as leader of the left-of-centre group, which later formed the Democratic Left Party (DLP). Ecevit rose through the ranks, becoming minister of labour (1961–65), RPP secretary-general (1966–71), party chairman (1972), and, finally, prime minister in January 1974. After he lost a parliamentary vote of confidence that September, tenuous power passed to Suleyman Demirel of the Justice Party. Ecevit formed a brief government in 1977 and again during January 1978–October 1979; he took over for the last time after Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz was forced to resign in 1998. When Ecevit became ill in May 2002, his refusal to name an acting prime minister triggered mass DLP resignations and caused his coalition to lose its parliamentary majority. In the November elections that followed, the DLP received about 1% of the vote. Ecevit's literary works included Turkish translations of works by Rabindranath Tagore and of T.S. Eliot's play The Cocktail Party. A collection of Ecevit's original poetry, Bir şeyler olacak yarın (“Things Will Happen Tomorrow”), was published in 2005.

▪ 2000

      Following the collapse in 1998 of the centre-right government of Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and repeated attempts to form a coalition that could run the country, early in 1999 Turkey's Pres. Suleyman Demirel turned to someone who had been there before—three times before, in fact. He tapped veteran politician Bulent Ecevit, who was able to cobble together a broad, three-party coalition comprising his own left-wing Democratic Left Party (DLP), the far-right Nationalist Action Party, and Yilmaz's Motherland Party. The new government representatives took their seats on Ecevit's 74th birthday.

      Ecevit was born on May 28, 1925, in Constantinople (now Istanbul), Turkey. His father was a professor and politician and his mother a painter; young Bulent developed interests in both politics and the arts. After earning a B.A. (1944) from Robert College in Istanbul, he studied literature at the University of Ankara, Turkey, and art history and foreign languages at the University of London, later attending classes at Harvard University as well. He began his career as a journalist and between 1946 and 1950 served in London at the Turkish press attaché's office. Back in Turkey in the 1950s he worked for Ulus, the newspaper of the Republican People's Party (RPP), of which his father had been a parliamentary deputy.

      Ecevit was first elected to Parliament in 1957 and was reelected steadily in the next 23 years. He also served on the RPP Central Committee and formed a democratic-left movement that eventually became the DLP. During his term as minister of labour (1961–65), the strike was made legal in Turkey. In 1972 Ecevit became chairman of the RPP, and two years later he was named prime minister. In July 1974, when Greek officers overthrew Cypriot leader Archbishop Makarios III, Ecevit sent in troops to support the Turkish Cypriots, a move that led to the partition of the island into Greek and Turkish sectors. Dissension within Ecevit's coalition government prompted his resignation as prime minister a few months later. He led governments again briefly in 1977 and for almost two years in 1978–79. A period followed when Ecevit frequently found himself in prison for his leftist ideals, but he still managed to organize the DLP with his wife as head. In 1987, when he regained his political rights, he took the party chairmanship himself. In 1991, after an 11-year absence, Ecevit was reelected to Parliament.

      Ecevit was a noted poet and translated several literary works into Turkish, including T.S. Eliot's play, The Cocktail Party, and several works by Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore.

Amy Weber

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▪ prime minister of Turkey

born May 28, 1925, Constantinople [now Istanbul], Turkey

died Nov. 5, 2006, Ankara

 Turkish poet, journalist, and politician, who served as prime minister of Turkey in 1974, 1977, 1978–79, and 1999–2002.

      Ecevit attended the American Robert College in Istanbul and served as an embassy official in London (1946–50). He returned to Ankara as a writer and journalist with the newspapers Halkçi and Ulus, the official organ of the Republican People's Party (RPP), which his father had represented in the National Assembly.

      Ecevit was elected to the National Assembly as an RPP member for Ankara (1957, 1961) and Zonguldak (1965, 1969), having joined the party council in 1959. He gradually emerged as leader of the left-of-centre group, and during his service as minister of labour (1961–65) he legalized strikes for the first time in Turkish history. In 1966 Ecevit became secretary-general of the RPP under İsmet İnönü (İnönü, İsmet), whose cooperation with the country's military government he opposed. Ecevit became chairman of the RPP in 1972 and prime minister in January 1974.

      As head of government, Ecevit declared an amnesty for all political prisoners and authorized (July 20, 1974) Turkey's military intervention in Cyprus after the Greek-led coup on that island. His request for a vote of confidence from the National Assembly in September 1974 failed, and, after a severe political crisis, tenuous power passed to Süleyman Demirel (Demirel, Süleyman) of the Justice Party. After further crises in 1977, during which Ecevit briefly formed a government (June 21–July 3), he was again prime minister in January 1978. Acute economic and social difficulties, however, led to the fall of his government in October 1979.

      Ecevit remained active in politics and was deputy premier in 1998 when Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz was forced to resign following a corruption scandal. Ecevit formed a new government, and in April 1999 his Democratic Left Party won a plurality of votes. A coalition government was created, with Ecevit as prime minister. Months after he took office, Turkey suffered a devastating earthquake, and Ecevit drew criticism for the government's slow initial response to the crisis and its refusal to allow Muslim groups to participate in relief efforts. A staunch secularist, Ecevit had pledged to curb the growing influence of Islam in Turkish politics.

      At the start of the 21st century, Ecevit's administration faced a number of challenges. The Turkish economy continued to falter, and the country experienced its worst recession in some 55 years. There was also bitter opposition to a number of reforms, including the abolition of the death penalty and increased civil rights for Kurds, that were meant to ease Turkey's admittance to the European Union; after much political maneuvering, the EU-related reforms were eventually passed by the National Assembly. The situation worsened in May 2002 when Ecevit became ill but refused to name an acting prime minister. There were calls for his resignation, and subsequently numerous party members and ministers resigned, which caused Ecevit's coalition to lose its parliamentary majority. In July 2002 the National Assembly voted to move up elections, which were held in November 2002. Ecevit's Democratic Left Party was overwhelmingly defeated, receiving about 1 percent of the votes.

      Among Ecevit's literary works are a Turkish translation (1941) of Rabindranath Tagore's song poems, Gītāñjalī, and a translation (1963) of T.S. Eliot's play The Cocktail Party. A book of his original poetry, Bir şeyler olacak yarın (“Things Will Happen Tomorrow”), was published in 2005. His political writings include Ortanin solu (1966; “Left of Centre”), Bu düzen değişmelidir (1968; “The System Must Change”), Atatürk ve devrimcilik (1970; “Atatürk and Revolution”), Demokratik sol (1974; “Democratic Left”), and Işçi-köylü elele (1976; “Workers and Peasants Together”).

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