born Sept. 24, 1884, Smyrna, Ottoman Empire
died Dec. 25, 1973, Ankara, Tur.
Turkish army officer and statesman.
On the surrender of the Ottoman Empire in World War I (1918), he was undersecretary of war. He became prime minister in 1923, and president and permanent chairman of the Republican People's Party in 1938 on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk 's death. In 1950 he was replaced as president by Celâl Bayar and led the opposition, assuming the role of defender of democracy. Following a 1960 coup d'état, he formed three coalition governments, but in the 1965 and 1969 elections his party suffered overwhelming defeats.