Famous Turkish Presidents

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 1 
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
(Founder of the Republic of Turkey,)
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
16
Birthdate: May 19, 1881
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Thessaloniki
Died: November 10, 1938
Kemal Atatürk, known as the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, was its first president. He unified Turkey into a secular country and invested in education and women’s rights. He also popularized the Latin-based Turkish alphabet and made minorities speak Turkish in public. His policies are known as “Kemalism.” 
 2 
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
(12th President of Turkey)
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
36
Birthdate: February 26, 1954
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Kasımpaşa

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a Turkish politician and the current president of Turkey. After founding the Justice and Development Party (AKP), he played a major role in leading the party to election victories and thereby helping AKP become a force to reckon with in Turkey. Described as an authoritarian, his government has restricted access to sites like Wikipedia and YouTube.

 3 
İsmet İnönü
(Turkey's 2nd President and 1st Prime Minister)
İsmet İnönü
6
Birthdate: September 24, 1884
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: İzmir, Turkey
Died: December 25, 1973

The 2nd president of Turkey, İsmet İnönü had also been a 3-time prime minister of the country. Previously an efficient military commander, who had fought in World War I and the Greco-Turkish War, he later led the Republican People's Party in Turkey’s one-party state. He had also been Turkey's foreign affairs minister.

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 4 
Turgut Özal
(The 8th President and 19th Prime Minister of Turkey)
Turgut Özal
2
Birthdate: October 13, 1927
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Malatya
Died: April 17, 1993

The 8th president of Turkey, Turgut Özal was also the country’s 19th prime minister. He led the Motherland Party, also known as ANAP, and had also worked with the World Bank as an economist. He died of a heart attack while in office, though many believe he may have been poisoned.

 5 
Abdullah Gül
(The 11th President and 24th Prime Minister of Turkey)
Abdullah Gül
8
Birthdate: October 29, 1950
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Kayseri

The 11th president of Turkey, Abdullah Gül has also been the country’s 24th prime minister. He has led Turkey as its minister of foreign affairs and of state too. Associated with political parties such as the Welfare Party and the Justice and Development Party in the past, he later turned into an independent candidate.

 6 
Süleyman Demirel
(The 9th President and 12th Prime Minister of Turkey)
Süleyman Demirel
3
Birthdate: November 1, 1924
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Atabey, Isparta, Turkey
Died: June 17, 2015

The 9th president of Turkey, Süleyman Demirel, was also the country’s 12th and youngest prime minister. He had led both the Justice Party and the True Path Party. The civil engineer and politician hailed from a peasant family. Amid extremist violence, he was once barred from participating in politics.

 7 
Cemal Gürsel
(4th President of Turkey)
Cemal Gürsel
2
Birthdate: October 13, 1895
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Erzurum, Turkey
Died: September 14, 1966
 8 
Celâl Bayar
(The 3rd President and 3rd Prime Minister of Turkey)
Celâl Bayar
3
Birthdate: May 16, 1883
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Gemlik, Turkey
Died: August 22, 1986

The 3rd president of Turkey, Celâl Bayar was also the country’s 3rd prime minister and a seasoned economist. The Democrat Party leader had also previously been a member of the Committee of Union and Progress and the Republican People's Party. He is also remembered for introducing etatism, or a state-directed economy, in Turkey.

 9 
Fahri Koruturk
(The 6th President of Turkey)
Fahri Koruturk
4
Birthdate: August 3, 1903
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Istanbul
Died: October 12, 1987

The 6th president of Turkey, Fahri Koruturk had also been the 3rd Commander of the Turkish Navy. He had an illustrious naval career, having served as a naval military attaché in Berlin, Rome, and Stockholm. He had also served as the Turkish ambassador to the Soviet Union and to Spain.

 10 
Cevdet Sunay
(Turkey's 5th President)
Cevdet Sunay
3
Birthdate: February 10, 1899
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Turkey
Died: May 22, 1982

Turkish military commander Cevdet Sunay later served as the 5th president of Turkey and had also been the Chief of the General Staff of Turkey. He had participated in World War I and the Turkish War of Independence. He became the president after President Cemal Gursel’s presidency was terminated due to ill health.

 11 
Mehmet Ali Talat
(The 2nd President of Northern Cyprus)
Mehmet Ali Talat
2
Birthdate: July 6, 1952
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Kyrenia, British Cyprus

The 2nd president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Mehmet Ali Talat had also led his country as its prime minister. An engineer, he had joined politics with trade unionism as a student and the led the Republican Turkish Party. His leadership witnessed the UN-sponsored negotiations between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots.