Cemal Gursel

Cemal Gürsel was a Turkish military officer and politician who was the fourth president of Turkey, serving from 1960 to 1966 after taking power in a coup d'état. He was born in Erzurum as the son of an Ottoman Army officer and graduated from the Kuleli Military High School in Istanbul. He served in the Army for 45 years, participating in the Battle of Gallipoli, the Palestine and Syria fronts in World War I, and the Turkish War of Independence. He was promoted to general in 1954 and became the commander of the Turkish Army in 1958. He was forced to retire in 1960 after he demanded political reforms from the government of Adnan Menderes. On May 27, 1960, he was chosen as the leader of a military coup that overthrew Menderes and established the National Unity Committee. He became the president and prime minister of the provisional government and oversaw the preparation of a new constitution that restored democracy and civil rights. He also initiated several reforms in the fields of education, culture, media, and population planning. He suffered a stroke in 1964 that left him partially paralyzed and unable to speak. He resigned from his office in 1966 and died later that year in Ankara. He was buried in the Turkish State Cemetery with a state funeral. He is remembered as a popular and respected figure who defended the principles of secularism and democracy in Turkey.