List of presidents of Turkey

The following is a complete list of people who held the office of President of Turkey. There have been twelve heads of state since the inception of the republican period in 1923, following the Turkish War of Independence. For a list of rulers of the predecessor Ottoman Empire, see List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire.

List of presidents (1923–present)

Political parties
  Justice Party (AP)
  True Path Party (DYP)
Other factions
Status
  Denotes acting president
No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)		 Elected Took office Left office Time in office Political party Previous office
Parliamentary system (1923–2018)
1 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
(1881–1938)		 1923 29 October 192310 November 1938
(Died in office)		 15 years, 12 days CHP 1st speaker of the Grand National Assembly
1927
1931
1935
— Abdülhalik Renda
(1881–1957)		 — 10 November 193811 November 1938 1 day CHP 4th speaker of the Grand National Assembly
2 İsmet İnönü
(1884–1973)		 1938 11 November 193822 May 1950 11 years, 192 days CHP 1st prime minister of Turkey
1939
1943
1946
3 Celâl Bayar
(1883–1986)		 1950 22 May 195027 May 1960
(Deposed)		 10 years, 5 days DP 3rd prime minister of Turkey
1954
1957
— National Unity Committee
Milli Birlik Komitesi
Chairman: General Cemal Gürsel
(1895–1966)		 — 27 May 196026 October 1961 1 year, 152 days Military 10th commander of the Turkish Army
4 Cemal Gürsel
(1895–1966)		 1961 26 October 196128 March 1966[a] 4 years, 153 days Independent Chairman of the National Unity Committee
— İbrahim Şevki Atasagun
(1899–1984)		 — 2 February 196628 March 1966 54 days AP 3rd chairman of the Senate of Turkey
5 Cevdet Sunay
(1899–1982)		 1966 28 March 196628 March 1973 7 years Independent 12th chief of the Turkish General Staff
— Tekin Arıburun
(1903–1993)		 — 28 March 19736 April 1973 9 days AP 4th chairman of the Senate of Turkey
6 Fahri Korutürk
(1903–1987)		 1973 6 April 19736 April 1980 7 years Independent 3rd commander of the Turkish Navy
— İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil
(1908–1993)		 — 6 April 198012 September 1980
(Deposed)		 159 days AP 6th chairman of the Senate of Turkey
— National Security Council
Milli Güvenlik Kurulu
Chairman: General Kenan Evren
(1917–2015)		 — 12 September 19809 November 1982 2 years, 58 days Military 17th chief of the Turkish General Staff
7 Kenan Evren
(1917–2015)		 1982 9 November 19829 November 1989 7 years Independent Chairman of the National Security Council
8 Turgut Özal
(1927–1993)		 1989 9 November 198917 April 1993
(Died in office)		 3 years, 159 days Independent[b] 19th prime minister of Turkey
— Hüsamettin Cindoruk
(1933–2026)		 — 17 April 199316 May 1993 29 days DYP 17th speaker of the Grand National Assembly
9 Süleyman Demirel
(1924–2015)		 1993 16 May 199316 May 2000 7 years Independent[c] 12th prime minister of Turkey
10 Ahmet Necdet Sezer
(born 1941)		 2000 16 May 200028 August 2007 7 years, 104 days Independent 14th president of the Constitutional Court of Turkey
11 Abdullah Gül
(born 1950)		 2007 28 August 200728 August 2014 7 years Independent[d] 41th minister of foreign affairs of Turkey
12 Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
(born 1954)		 2014 28 August 20149 July 2018 3 years, 315 days Independent[d] 25th prime minister of Turkey
AK Party[e]
Presidential system (2018–present)
(12) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
(born 1954)		 2018 9 July 2018Incumbent 8 years, 49 days AK Party 25th prime minister of Turkey
2023

Timeline

Recep Tayyip ErdoğanAbdullah GülAhmet Necdet SezerSüleyman DemirelHüsamettin CindorukTurgut ÖzalKenan Evrenİhsan Sabri ÇağlayangilFahri KorutürkTekin ArıburunCevdet Sunayİbrahim Şevki AtasagunCemal GürselCelal Bayarİsmet İnönüAbdülhalik RendaMustafa Kemal Atatürk

By time in office

This page is a list of the 12 presidents of the Republic of Turkey, ranked according to their terms of office.

Longest presidency
Shortest presidency
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Turgut Özal
15 years and 12 days

(1923–1938)

 3 years 159 days

(1989-1993)

Rank President Length Order of presidency Notes
1. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk 15 years and 12 days 1. First President
2. İsmet İnönü 11 years and 192 days 2.
3. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan 11 years 30 gün 12.
4. Celâl Bayar 10 years 5 gün 3.
5. Ahmet Necdet Sezer 7 years 104 gün 10.
6. Cevdet Sunay 7 years and 1 days 5.
Fahri Korutürk 6.
Kenan Evren 7.
Süleyman Demirel 9.
Abdullah Gül 11.
11. Cemal Gürsel 4 years and 153 days 4.
12. Turgut Özal 3 years 159 days 8.

Directly elected presidents

  • Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the 12th and incumbent President, is the first and only president to be directly elected by popular vote.

Presidents who died in office

Presidents who were members of a political party

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Gürsel was removed from office due to ill health on 2 February 1966 and İbrahim Şevki Atasagun assumed the duties of the President and with it became acting President, although Gürsel officially held the office until 28 March 1966.
  2. ↑ Nonpartisan within ANAP.
  3. ↑ Nonpartisan within DYP.
  4. 1 2 Nonpartisan within AK Party.
  5. ↑ After the 2017 constitutional referendum, the president of Turkey obtained the right to join a political party.

References

  1. ↑ "Kemal Atatürk - Turkish Republic, Modernization, Reforms | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  2. ↑ "Turgut Özal | Economic Reforms, Political Career & Legacy | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Tarihten günümüze CHP Genel Başkanları listesi (2025 Güncel liste)". birgun.net (in Turkish). Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  4. ↑ Dünyada ve Türkiye'de Partili Cumhurbaşkanlığı - UNIS. "2025-9-28".
  5. ↑ "Erdoğan, 1547 oyun tamamını alarak yeniden AK Parti Genel Başkanı oldu". euronews (in Turkish). 23 February 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.