1895 - 1966

Turkish military officer, fourth president of the Turkish republic.

Cemal Gürsel was born in Erzurum, the son of a police officer. World War I broke out while he was studying at the military college in Constantinople (now Istanbul), and he was sent to the front at Çanakkale. After the war, he joined the independence movement led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. In 1959 Gürsel was appointed commander of the Turkish land forces. In May 1960, he wrote a letter to the minister of defense protesting Prime Minister Adnan Menderes's use of the army to suppress dissent; in response, he was stripped of his command and placed under house arrest in İzmir. At this point, a group of junior officers invited Gürsel to lead their movement. Gürsel accepted, and on 27 May 1960 he headed a group of thirty-eight officers in a coup that overthrew the civilian government. Gürsel became head of the newly established National Unity Committee, as well as prime minister, president, and commander of the armed forces. An advocate of returning to civilian rule as quickly as possible, Gürsel expelled from the country fourteen younger officers, led by Colonel Alparslan Türkeş, who called for continued military rule. In 1961, following the promulgation of a new constitution and election of a new parliament, Gürsel was elected fourth president of the Turkish republic. In 1966, his failing health forced him to resign his office, and he died shortly thereafter.

— DAVID WALDNER