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 Suleyman DEMIREL (since 16 May 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Mesut YILMAZ (since 12 July 1997) and Deputy Prime Ministers Bulent ECEVIT (since 12 July 1997) and Ismet SEZGIN (since 12 July 1997) 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 16 May 1993 (next scheduled to be held NA 2000); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president election results: Suleyman DEMIREL elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 54%
Legislative branch: unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 24 December 1995 (next to be held by December 2000) election results: percent of vote by party-RP 21.38%, DYP 19.18%, ANAP 19.65%, DSP 14.64%, CHP 10.71%, independent 0.48%; seats by party-RP 158, DYP 135, ANAP 133, DSP 75, CHP 49; note-seats held by various parties are subject to change due to defections, creation of new parties, and ouster or death of sitting deputies; seating by party as of 4 May 1998: FP 142, ANAP 139, DYP 92, DSP 62, CHP 56, DTP 22, BBP 8, MHP 2, DP 1, DEPAR 1, independents 16, vacant 9
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, judges appointed by the president; Court of Appeals, judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors
Political parties and leaders: Motherland Party or ANAP [Mesut
YILMAZ]; Democratic Left Party or DSP [Bulent ECEVIT]; True Path Party
or DYP [Tansu CILLER]; Welfare Party or RP [Necmettin ERBAKAN]
(officially outlawed on 22 February 1998); Nationalist Action Party or
MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL];
Workers' Party or IP [Dogu PERINCEK]; Nation Party or MP [Aykut
EDIBALI]; Democratic Party or DP [Korkut OZAL]; Grand Unity Party or
BBP [Muhsin YAZICIOGLU]; Rebirth Party or YDP [Hasan Celal GUZEL];
People's Democracy Party or HADEP [Murat BOZLAK]; Main Path Party or
ANAYOL [Gurcan BASER]; Democratic Target Party or DHP [Abdulkadir
Yasar TURK]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Besim TIBUK]; New
Democracy Movement or YDH [Huseyin ERGUN]; Labor Party or EP [Ihsan
CARALAN]; Democracy and Peace Party or DBP [Refik KARAKOC]; Freedom
and Solidarity Party or ODP [Ufuk URAS]; Peace Party or BP [Mehmet
ETI]; Democratic Mass Party or DKP [Serafettin ELCI]; Democratic
Turkey Party or DTP [Husamettin CINDORUK]; Virtue Party or FP [Ismail
ALPTEKIN]; Changing Turkey Party or DEPAR [Gokhan CAPOGLU]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Turkish Confederation of Labor
or Turk-Is [Bayram MERAL]; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers
Unions or DISK [Ridvan BUDAK]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is
[Salim USLU]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or
TUSIAD [Muharrem KAYHAN]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and
Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [Fuat MIRAS]; Turkish Confederation of
Employers' Unions or TISK [Refik BAYDUR]; Independent Industrialists
and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Erol YARAR]
International organization participation: AsDB, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE,
CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, OECD,
OIC, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH,
UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNRWA, UPU, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Baki ILKIN chancery: 1714 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 659-8200 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Mark PARRIS embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Ankara mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone: [90] (312) 468-6110 FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019 consulate(s) general: Istanbul consulate(s): Adana