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: Changing Turkey Party or DEPAR [Gokhan
CAPOGLU]; Democracy and Peace Party or DBP ;
Democratic Left Party or DSP ; Democratic Party or DP
; Democratic Turkey Party or DTP ;
Enlightened Turkey Party or ATP ; Freedom and
Solidarity Party or ODP ; Grand Unity Party or BBP [Muhsin
YAZICIOGLU]; Labor Party or EP ; Liberal Democratic
Party or LDP ; Motherland Party or ANAP ;
My Turkey Party or TP ; Nation Party or MP [Aykut
EDIBALI]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP ; New
Democracy Movement or YDH ; Peace Party or BP [Ali
Haydar VEZIROGLU]; People's Democracy Party or HADEP ;
Republican People's Party or CHP ; Revolutionary People's
Party ; Socialist Power Party or SIP ; True
Path Party or DYP ; Virtue Party or FP ;
Workers' Party or IP
note: Welfare Party or RP was officially outlawed
on 22 February 1998
Political pressure groups and leaders: Confederation of Revolutionary
Workers Unions or DISK ; Independent Industrialists and
Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD ; Moral Rights Workers
Union or Hak-Is ; Turkish Industrialists' and
Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD ; Turkish
Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK ; Turkish
Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is ; Turkish Union of
Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB
International organization participation: AsDB, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE,
CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, EU (applicant), FAO,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer),
ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA,
UPU, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Baki ILKIN chancery: 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 612-6700 FAX: (202) 612-6744 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Robert PEARSON embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Ankara mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone: (312) 468-6110 FAX: (312) 467-0019 consulate(s) general: Istanbul consulate(s): Adana
Flag description: red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening
@Turkey:Economy
Economy - overview: Turkey has a dynamic economy that is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with traditional village agriculture and crafts. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. Its most important industry - and largest exporter - is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. The economic situation in recent years has been marked by erratic economic growth and serious imbalances. After a sharp drop in 1994, real GNP averaged 6.5% annual growth in 1995-98; it then fell about 5% in 1999 as Turkey was adversely affected by Russia's economic crisis and two major earthquakes. The already-large public sector fiscal deficit widened in 1999 to perhaps 14% of GDP - due in large part to the huge burden of interest payments which accounted for 42% of central grovernment spending. Despite the implementation in January 1996 of a customs union with the EU, foreign direct investment in the country remains low - less than $1 billion annually - perhaps because potential investors are concerned about economic and political stability. Prospects for the future are brighter - including prospects for foreign investment - because the ECEVIT government is implementing a major economic reform program, including a tighter budget, social security reform, banking reorganization, and greatly accelerated privatization.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $409.4 billion (1999 est.)