List of presidents of Turkey by age

Last updated September 07, 2022

This is a list of presidents of Turkey by age. The first table charts the age of each president of Turkey at the time of presidential inauguration (first inauguration if elected to multiple and consecutive terms), upon leaving office, and at the time of death. Where the president is still living, their lifespan and post-presidency timespan are calculated up to September 6, 2022.

Age of presidents

The median age at inauguration of incoming Turkish presidents is 63.5 years. The specific years and days median is 55 years and 104.5 days, which falls midway between how old Turgut Özal was in 1989 and Kenan Evren was in 1982.

The youngest person to assume the presidency was Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who, at the age of 42, was the founding father of the newly formed Turkish Republic.^[1] The youngest to become president by election was Fahri Korutürk, who was inaugurated at age 69. At age 63, Abdullah Gül was the youngest person to become a former president. The oldest president at the end of his tenure was Celâl Bayar at 77.^[2]

Cemal Gürsel had the shortest retirement of any president, dying barely five months after leaving office at age 70 (the youngest president to die of natural causes). His presidency was ended by the Parliament in conformity with the Constitution due to a deterioration of his health.^[3]

Celâl Bayar's post-presidency retirement, which lasted 26 years, is the longest in Turkish presidential history. At age 103, Celâl Bayar was also the nation's longest-lived president. He is one of three Turkish presidents (along with Süleyman Demirel and Kenan Evren) to have lived into their 90s. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Turgut Özal had no post-presidency retirement as the both died in office due to natural causes.^[4]^[5] The youngest living president currently is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, age 68.

Presidential age-related data

No.	President	Born	Age at start of presidency	Age at end of presidency	Post-presidency timespan	Lifespan
No.	President	Born	Age at start of presidency	Age at end of presidency	Post-presidency timespan	Died	Age
01	Mustafa Kemal Atatürk	January 4, 1881	42 years, 298 days Oct 29, 1923	57 years, 310 days Nov 10, 1938	00,0010 days^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Nov 10, 1938	57 years, 310 days
02	İsmet İnönü	September 24, 1884	54 years, 48 days Nov 11, 1938	65 years, 245 days May 27, 1950	23 years, 212 days	Dec 25, 1973	89 years, 92 days
03	Celâl Bayar	May 16, 1883	67 years, 11 days May 27, 1950	77 years, 11 days May 27, 1960	26 years, 87 days	Aug 22, 1986	103 years, 98 days
04	Cemal Gürsel	October 13, 1895	65 years, 362 days Oct 10, 1961	70 years, 166 days Mar 28, 1966	170 days	Sep 14, 1966	70 years, 336 days
05	Cevdet Sunay	February 10, 1899	67 years, 46 days Mar 28, 1966	74 years, 46 days Mar 28, 1973	9 years, 55 days	May 22, 1982	83 years, 101 days
06	Fahri Korutürk	August 3, 1903	69 years, 246 days Apr 6, 1973	76 years, 247 days Apr 6, 1980	7 years, 189 days	Oct 12, 1987	84 years, 70 days
07	Kenan Evren	July 17, 1917	65 years, 115 days Nov 9, 1982	72 years, 115 days Nov 9, 1989	25 years, 181 days	May 9, 2015	97 years, 296 days
08	Turgut Özal	October 13, 1927	62 years, 27 days Nov 9, 1989	65 years, 186 days Apr 17, 1993	00,0010 days^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Apr 17, 1993	65 years, 186 days
09	Süleyman Demirel	November 1, 1924	68 years, 196 days May 16, 1993	75 years, 197 days May 16, 2000	15 years, 32 days	Jun 17, 2015	90 years, 228 days
10	Ahmet Necdet Sezer	September 13, 1941	58 years, 246 days May 16, 2000	65 years, 349 days Aug 28, 2007	15 years, 9 days	2022-09-6(living)	80 years, 358 days
11	Abdullah Gül	October 29, 1950	56 years, 303 days Aug 28, 2007	63 years, 303 days Aug 28, 2014	8 years, 9 days	2022-09-6(living)	71 years, 312 days
12	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	February 26, 1954	60 years, 183 days Aug 28, 2014	68 years, 192 days(incumbent)	(incumbent)	2022-09-6(living)	68 years, 192 days
#	President	Born	Age at start of presidency	Age at end of presidency	Post-presidency timespan	Died	Age
#	President	Born	Age at start of presidency	Age at end of presidency	Post-presidency timespan	Lifespan

Notes

1 2 Died in office

Graphical representation

This is a graphical lifespan timeline of the presidents of Turkey. They are listed in order of office.

The following chart shows presidents by their age (living presidents in green), with the years of their presidency in blue.

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References

↑ Türenç, Tufan (December 20, 1999). "Türkiye'nin en genç cumhurbaşkanı Atatürk'tü". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved September 6, 2022.
↑ "Türkiye'nin 12 Cumhurbaşkanı". BİA Haber Merkezi. April 23, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
↑ "Cemal Gürsel". www.tccb.gov.tr. Presidency of the Republic of Turkey. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
↑ Cavendish, Richard (November 11, 2013). "Mustafa Kemal Ataturk dies in Istanbul | History Today". www.historytoday.com. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
↑ Cowell, Alan (April 18, 1993). "Turgut Ozal, 66, Dies in Ankara; Pugnacious President of Turkey". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

Sources

Cumhurbaşkanlığı Külliyesi, "The Presidents of Turkey".
T.C cumhurbaşkanlarının göreve başladıklarındakı yaşları, verikaynagi.com

v t e Presidents of Turkey
List List by education
Presidents	Mustafa Kemal Atatürk İsmet İnönü Celâl Bayar Cemal Gürsel Cevdet Sunay Fahri Korutürk Kenan Evren Turgut Özal Süleyman Demirel Ahmet Necdet Sezer Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Acting presidents	Abdülhalik Renda İbrahim Şevki Atasagun Tekin Arıburun İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil Hüsamettin Cindoruk