ECEVIT, BLENT

born May 28, 1925, Constantinople [now Istanbul], Turkey Turkish poet, journalist, and politician, who served as prime minister of Turkey in 1974, 1977, 197879, and from 1999. Ecevit attended the American Robert College in Istanbul and served as an embassy official in London (194650). He returned to Ankara as a writer and journalist with the newspapers Halki and Ulus, the official organ of the Republican People's Party (RPP), which his father had represented in Parliament. Ecevit was elected to Parliament as an RPP member for Ankara (1957, 1961) and Zonguldak (1965, 1969), having joined the party council in 1959. He gradually emerged as leader of the left-of-centre group, and during his service as minister of labour (196165) he legalized strikes for the first time in Turkish history. In 1966 Ecevit became secretary-general of the RPP under Ismet Inn, whose cooperation with the country's military government he opposed. Ecevit became chairman of the RPP in 1972 and prime minister in January 1974. As head of government, Ecevit declared an amnesty for all political prisoners and authorized (July 20, 1974) Turkey's military intervention in Cyprus after the Greek-led coup on that island. His request for a vote of confidence from the Parliament in September 1974 failed, and, after a severe political crisis, tenuous power passed to Sleyman Demirel of the Justice Party. After further crises in 1977, during which Ecevit briefly formed a government (June 21July 3), he was again prime minister in January 1978. Acute economic and social difficulties, however, led to the fall of his government in October 1979. Ecevit remained active in politics and was deputy premier in 1998 when Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz was forced to resign following a corruption scandal. Ecevit formed a new government, and in April 1999 his Democratic Left Party won a plurality of votes. A coalition government was created, with Ecevit as prime minister. Months after he took office, Turkey suffered a devastating earthquake, and Ecevit drew criticism for the government's slow initial response to the crisis and its refusal to allow Muslim groups to participate in relief efforts. A staunch secularist, Ecevit had pledged to curb the growing influence of Islam in Turkish politics. Among Ecevit's literary works are a Turkish translation (1941) of Rabindranath Tagore's song poems, Gitajali, and a translation (1963) of T.S. Eliot's play The Cocktail Party. His political writings include Ortanin solu (1966; Left of Centre), Bu dzen degismelidir (1968; The System Must Change), Atatrk ve devrimcilik (1970; Atatrk and Revolution), Demokratik Sol (1974; Democratic Left), and Isi-Kyl Elele (1976; Workers and Peasants Together).