Turkey: Government#
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Turkey conventional short form: Turkey local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti local short form: Turkiye etymology: the name means "Land of the Turks" |
|---|---|
| Government type | parliamentary republic |
| Capital | Ankara
Ankara
geographic coordinates: 39 56 N, 32 52 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Administrative divisions | 81 provinces (iller, singular - ili); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyonkarahisar, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir (Smyrna), Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon (Trebizond), Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak |
| Independence | 29 October 1923 (republic proclaimed succeeding to the Ottoman Empire) |
| National holiday | Republic Day, 29 October (1923) |
| Constitution | history: several previous; latest ratified 9 November 1982 amendments: proposed by written consent of at least one-third of Grand National Assembly (GNA) members; adoption of draft amendments requires two debates in plenary GNA session and three-fifths majority vote of all GNA members; the president of the republic can request GNA reconsideration of the amendment and, if readopted by two-thirds majority GNA vote, the president may submit the amendment to a referendum; passage by referendum requires absolute majority vote; amended several times, last in 2016 (2016) |
| Legal system | civil law system based on various European legal systems notably the Swiss civil code |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Turkey dual citizenship recognized: yes, but requires prior permission from the government residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (since 10 August 2014) head of government: Prime Minister Binali YILDIRIM (since 22 May 2016); Deputy Prime Ministers Nurettin CANIKLI (since 24 May 2016), Veysi KAYNAK (since 24 May 2016), Mehmet SIMSEK (since 24 November 2015), Tugrul TURKES (since 29 August 2014), Numan KURTULMUS (since 29 August 2014) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, appointed by the president elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister appointed by the president from among members of parliament; note - a 2007 constitutional amendment changed the presidential electoral process to direct popular vote; prime minister appointed by the president from among members of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey election results: Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN elected president; Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (AKP) 51.8%, Ekmeleddin IHSANOGLU (independent) 38.4%, Selahattin DEMIRTAS (HDP) 9.8% |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms) elections: last held on 1 November 2015 (next to be held on June 2019) election results: percent of vote by party - AKP 49.5%, CHP 25.3%, MHP 11.9%, HDP 10.8%, other 2.6%; seats by party - AKP 317, CHP 134, MHP 40, HDP 59; note - only parties surpassing the 10% threshold can win parliamentary seats |
| Judicial branch | highest court: Constitutional Court or Anayasa Mahkemesi (consists of 17 members); Court of Cassation (consists of about 390 judges and organized into civil and penal chambers); Council of State (organized into 15 divisions - 14 judicial and 1 consultative - each with a division head and at least 5 members) judge selection and term of office: Constitutional Court members - 3 appointed by the Grand National Assembly and 14 by the president of the republic from among candidates nominated by the plenary assemblies of the high courts (with the exception of the Court of High Accounts), the Higher Education Council, and from among senior government administrators, lawyers, judges and prosecutors, and Constitutional Court rapporteurs; court president and 2 deputy presidents appointed from among its members for 4-year terms; judges appointed for 12-year, non-renewable terms with mandatory retirement at age 65; Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Supreme Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors (SCJP), a 22-member body of judicial officials; Court of Cassation judges appointed until retirement at age 65; Council of State members appointed by the SCJP and by the president of the republic; members appointed for renewable, 4-year terms subordinate courts: regional appeals courts; basic (first instance) courts, peace courts; military courts; state security courts; specialized courts, including administrative and audit |
| Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party or DP (Gultekin UYSAL) Felicity Party or SP (Mustafa KAMALAK) Free Cause Party or HUDA PAR (Zekeriya YAPICIOGLU) Grand Unity Party or BBP (Mustafa DESTICI) Justice and Development Party or AKP (Binali YILDRUM) Nationalist Movement Party or MHP (Devlet BAHCELI) Patriotic Party of VP (Dogu PERINCEK) People's Democratic Party or HDP (Selahattin DEMIRTAS and Figen YUKSEKDAG); note - DEMIRTAS and YUKSEKDAG were detained by Turkish authorities in November 2016 over their alleged links to the PKK Republican People's Party or CHP (Kemal KILICDAROGLU) Rights and Freedom Party of HAK-PAR (Refik KARACOK) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey or TUSKON (Rizanur MERAL); note - the government issued an arrest warrant for MERAL over alleged connection to the July 2016 coup attempt Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK (Lami OZGEN, Saziye KOSE, co-chairs) Confederation of Progressive Workers Unions or DISK (Kani BEKO) Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD (Nail OLPAK) Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is (Mahmut ARSLAN) Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations or TISK (Kudret ONEN) Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is (Ergun ATALAY) Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK (Bendevi PALANDOKEN) Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD (Cansen BASARAN-SYMES) Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB (M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU) |
| International organization participation | ADB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CBSS (observer), CD, CE, CERN (observer), CICA, CPLP (associate observer), D-8, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EU (candidate country), FAO, FATF, G-20, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club (associate), PCA, PIF (partner), SCO (dialogue member), SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Serdar KILIC (since 21 May 2014) chancery: 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (1) (202) 612-6700 FAX: (1) (202) 612-6744 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John R. BASS (since 20 October 2014) embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Kavaklidere, 06100 Ankara mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone: (90) (312) 455-5555 FAX: (90) (312) 467-0019 consulate(s) general: Istanbul consulate(s): Adana |
| Flag description | red with a vertical white crescent moon (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening; the flag colors and designs closely resemble those on the banner of the Ottoman Empire, which preceded modern-day Turkey; the crescent moon and star serve as insignia for Turkic peoples; according to one interpretation, the flag represents the reflection of the moon and a star in a pool of blood of Turkish warriors |
| National symbol(s) | star and crescent; national colors: red, white |
| National anthem | name: "Istiklal Marsi" (Independence March) lyrics/music: Mehmet Akif ERSOY/Zeki UNGOR note: lyrics adopted 1921, music adopted 1932; the anthem's original music was adopted in 1924; a new composition was agreed upon in 1932 |