List of prime ministers of Turkey

Last updated March 25, 2025 • 1 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Top left: İsmet İnönü was Turkey's first prime minister and the longest serving prime minister.
Top right: Süleyman Demirel was the prime minister who formed the most governments in Turkey.
Bottom left: Tansu Çiller was Turkey's first and only female Prime Minister.
Bottom right: Binali Yıldırım was Turkey's last prime minister.

The position of Prime Minister of Turkey was established in 1920, during the Turkish War of Independence. The prime minister was the head of the executive branch of the government along with the Cabinet. Following the 2017 constitutional referendum, the office of prime minister was abolished and the President became the head of the executive branch after the 2018 general election.

List of prime ministers (1920–2018)

Heads of the Government of the Grand National Assembly (1920–1923)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Election (Parliament)	Term of office			Political party	Cabinet	Speaker (Term)
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Election (Parliament)	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party	Cabinet	Speaker (Term)
1		Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938)	1920 (1st)	3 May 1920	24 January 1921	266 days	Association for Defence of National Rights	Atatürk		Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1920–1923)
2		Fevzi Çakmak (1876–1950)	— (1st)	24 January 1921	9 July 1922	1 year, 166 days	Association for Defence of National Rights	Çakmak I
2		Fevzi Çakmak (1876–1950)	— (1st)	24 January 1921	9 July 1922	1 year, 166 days	Association for Defence of National Rights	Çakmak II
3		Rauf Orbay (1881–1964)	— (1st)	12 July 1922	4 August 1923	1 year, 23 days	Association for Defence of National Rights	Orbay
4		Fethi Okyar (1880–1943)	— (1st)	14 August 1923	27 October 1923	74 days	Association for Defence of National Rights	Okyar

Prime Ministers of the Republic of Turkey (1923–2018)

Status

Denotes acting prime minister

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Election (Parliament)	Term of office			Political party	Cabinet	President (Term)
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Election (Parliament)	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party	Cabinet	President (Term)
1		İsmet İnönü (1886–1973)	1923 (2nd)	30 October 1923	22 November 1924	1 year, 23 days	Republican People's Party	İnönü I		Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1923–1938)
1		İsmet İnönü (1886–1973)	— (2nd)	30 October 1923	22 November 1924	1 year, 23 days	Republican People's Party	İnönü II
2		Fethi Okyar (1880–1943)	— (2nd)	22 November 1924	6 March 1925	104 days	Republican People's Party	Okyar
(1)		İsmet İnönü (1886–1973)	— (2nd)	6 March 1925	1 November 1937	12 years, 240 days	Republican People's Party	İnönü III
			1927 (3rd)					İnönü IV
			— (3rd)					İnönü V
			1931 (4th)					İnönü VI
			1935 (5th)					İnönü VII
3		Celâl Bayar (1883–1986)	— (5th)	1 November 1937	25 January 1939	1 year, 85 days	Republican People's Party	Bayar I
3		Celâl Bayar (1883–1986)	— (5th)	1 November 1937	25 January 1939	1 year, 85 days	Republican People's Party	Bayar II		İsmet İnönü (1938–1950)
4		Refik Saydam (1881–1942)	— (5th)	25 January 1939	8 July 1942 (Died in office)	3 years, 164 days	Republican People's Party	Saydam I
4		Refik Saydam (1881–1942)	1939 (6th)	25 January 1939	8 July 1942 (Died in office)	3 years, 164 days	Republican People's Party	Saydam II
5		Şükrü Saracoğlu (1887–1953)	— (6th)	8 July 1942	7 August 1946	4 years, 30 days	Republican People's Party	Saracoğlu I
5		Şükrü Saracoğlu (1887–1953)	1943 (7th)	8 July 1942	7 August 1946	4 years, 30 days	Republican People's Party	Saracoğlu II
6		Recep Peker (1889–1950)	1946 (8th)	7 August 1946	9 September 1947	1 year, 33 days	Republican People's Party	Peker
7		Hasan Saka (1885–1960)	— (8th)	9 September 1947	16 January 1949	1 year, 129 days	Republican People's Party	Saka I
7		Hasan Saka (1885–1960)	— (8th)	9 September 1947	16 January 1949	1 year, 129 days	Republican People's Party	Saka II
8		Şemsettin Günaltay (1883–1961)	— (8th)	16 January 1949	22 May 1950	1 year, 126 days	Republican People's Party	Günaltay
9		Adnan Menderes (1899–1961)	1950 (9th)	22 May 1950	27 May 1960^[a]	10 years, 5 days	Democrat Party	Menderes I		Celâl Bayar (1950–1960)
			— (9th)					Menderes II
			1954 (10th)					Menderes III
			— (10th)					Menderes IV
			1957 (11th)					Menderes V
10		Cemal Gürsel (1894–1966)	—	27 May 1960	27 October 1961	1 year, 153 days	Military	Gürsel I		National Unity Committee (1960–1961)
10		Cemal Gürsel (1894–1966)	—	27 May 1960	27 October 1961	1 year, 153 days	Military	Gürsel II		National Unity Committee (1960–1961)
(1)		İsmet İnönü (1886–1973)	1961 (12th)	27 October 1961	20 February 1965	3 years, 116 days	Republican People's Party	İnönü VIII		Cemal Gürsel (1961–1966)
			— (12th)					İnönü IX
			— (12th)					İnönü X
11		Suat Hayri Ürgüplü (1903–1981)	— (12th)	20 February 1965	27 October 1965	249 days	Justice Party	Ürgüplü
12		Süleyman Demirel (1924–2015)	1965 (13th)	27 October 1965	26 March 1971^[b]	5 years, 150 days	Justice Party	Demirel I
			1969 (14th)					Demirel II		Cevdet Sunay (1966–1973)
			— (14th)					Demirel III
13		Nihat Erim (1912–1980)	— (14th)	26 March 1971	17 April 1972	1 year, 22 days	Republican People's Party / Independent	Erim I
13		Nihat Erim (1912–1980)	— (14th)	26 March 1971	17 April 1972	1 year, 22 days	Republican People's Party / Independent	Erim II
14		Ferit Melen (1906–1988)	— (14th)	17 April 1972	15 April 1973	363 days	Republican Reliance Party	Melen
15		Naim Talu (1919–1998)	1973 (15th)	15 April 1973	25 January 1974	285 days	Independent	Talu		Fahri Korutürk (1973–1980)
16		Bülent Ecevit (1925–2006)	— (15th)	25 January 1974	17 November 1974	296 days	Republican People's Party	Ecevit I
17		Sadi Irmak (1906–1990)	— (15th)	17 November 1974	31 March 1975	134 days	Independent	Irmak
(12)		Süleyman Demirel (1924–2015)	— (15th)	31 March 1975	21 June 1977	2 years, 82 days	Justice Party	Demirel IV
(16)		Bülent Ecevit (1925–2006)	1977 (16th)	21 June 1977	21 July 1977	30 days	Republican People's Party	Ecevit II
(12)		Süleyman Demirel (1924–2015)	— (16th)	21 July 1977	5 January 1978	168 days	Justice Party	Demirel V
(16)		Bülent Ecevit (1925–2006)	— (16th)	5 January 1978	12 November 1979	1 year, 311 days	Republican People's Party	Ecevit III
(12)		Süleyman Demirel (1924–2015)	— (16th)	12 November 1979	12 September 1980^[c]	305 days	Justice Party	Demirel VI
18		Bülend Ulusu (1922–2015)	—	21 September 1980	13 December 1983	3 years, 83 days	Military	Ulusu		National Security Council (1980–1982)
18		Bülend Ulusu (1922–2015)	—	21 September 1980	13 December 1983	3 years, 83 days	Military	Ulusu		Kenan Evren (1982–1989)
19		Turgut Özal (1927–1993)	1983 (17th)	13 December 1983	9 November 1989	5 years, 331 days	Motherland Party	Özal I
19		Turgut Özal (1927–1993)	1987 (18th)	13 December 1983	9 November 1989	5 years, 331 days	Motherland Party	Özal II
20		Yıldırım Akbulut (1935–2021)	— (18th)	9 November 1989	23 June 1991	1 year, 226 days	Motherland Party	Akbulut		Turgut Özal (1989–1993)
21		Mesut Yılmaz (1947–2020)	— (18th)	23 June 1991	20 November 1991	150 days	Motherland Party	Yılmaz I
(12)		Süleyman Demirel (1924–2015)	1991 (19th)	20 November 1991	16 May 1993	1 year, 177 days	True Path Party	Demirel VII
22		Tansu Çiller (born 1946)	— (19th)	25 June 1993	6 March 1996	2 years, 255 days	True Path Party	Çiller I		Süleyman Demirel (1993–2000)
			— (19th)					Çiller II
			— (19th)					Çiller III
(21)		Mesut Yılmaz (1947–2020)	1995 (20th)	6 March 1996	28 June 1996	114 days	Motherland Party	Yılmaz II
23		Necmettin Erbakan (1926–2011)	— (20th)	28 June 1996	30 June 1997^[d]	1 year, 2 days	Welfare Party	Erbakan
(21)		Mesut Yılmaz (1947–2020)	— (20th)	30 June 1997	11 January 1999	1 year, 195 days	Motherland Party	Yılmaz III
(16)		Bülent Ecevit (1925–2006)	— (20th)	11 January 1999	18 November 2002	3 years, 311 days	Democratic Left Party	Ecevit IV
(16)		Bülent Ecevit (1925–2006)	1999 (21st)	11 January 1999	18 November 2002	3 years, 311 days	Democratic Left Party	Ecevit V		Ahmet Necdet Sezer (2000–2007)
24		Abdullah Gül (born 1949)	2002 (22nd)	18 November 2002	14 March 2003	116 days	Justice and Development Party	Gül
25		Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 1954)	— (22nd)	14 March 2003	29 August 2014	11 years, 168 days	Justice and Development Party	Erdoğan I
			2007 (23nd)					Erdoğan II		Abdullah Gül (2007–2014)
			2011 (24th)					Erdoğan III		Abdullah Gül (2007–2014)
26		Ahmet Davutoğlu (born 1959)	— (24th)	29 August 2014	24 May 2016	1 year, 269 days	Justice and Development Party	Davutoğlu I		Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (2014–2018)
			Jun. 2015 (25th)					Davutoğlu II
			Nov. 2015 (26th)					Davutoğlu III
27		Binali Yıldırım (born 1955)	— (26th)	24 May 2016	9 July 2018	2 years, 46 days	Justice and Development Party	Yıldırım

Notes

↑ Deposed in the 1960 Turkish coup d'état.
↑ Resigned after the 1971 Turkish military memorandum.
↑ Deposed in the 1980 Turkish coup d'état.
↑ Resigned after the 1997 Turkish military memorandum.

Timeline

v t e Prime ministers of Turkey
Government of the Grand National Assembly (1920–1923)	Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Fevzi Çakmak Rauf Orbay Fethi Okyar
Republic of Turkey (1923–2018)	İsmet İnönü Fethi Okyar İsmet İnönü Celâl Bayar Refik Saydam Ahmet Fikri Tüzer Şükrü Saracoğlu Recep Peker Hasan Saka Şemsettin Günaltay Adnan Menderes Cemal Gürsel Fahri Özdilek İsmet İnönü Suat Hayri Ürgüplü Süleyman Demirel Nihat Erim Ferit Melen Naim Talu Bülent Ecevit Sadi Irmak Süleyman Demirel Bülent Ecevit Süleyman Demirel Bülent Ecevit Süleyman Demirel Bülent Ulusu Turgut Özal Ali Bozer Yıldırım Akbulut Mesut Yılmaz Süleyman Demirel Erdal İnönü Tansu Çiller Mesut Yılmaz Necmettin Erbakan Mesut Yılmaz Bülent Ecevit Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Ahmet Davutoğlu Binali Yıldırım
Italics denote acting prime ministers.

v t e Ministries of Turkey
Ministries	Agriculture and Forestry ( list ) Culture and Tourism ( list ) Energy and Natural Resources ( list ) Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change ( list ) Family and Social Services ( list ) Foreign Affairs ( list ) Health ( list ) Industry and Technology ( list ) Interior ( list ) Justice ( list ) National Defense ( list ) National Education ( list ) Labour and Social Security ( list ) Trade ( list ) Transport and Infrastructure ( list ) Treasury and Finance ( list ) Youth and Sports ( list )
Offices	Foreign Affairs EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator
Defunct	Prime Ministry ( list ) Deputy Prime Ministries ( list ) Construction and Settlement Coordination Customs and Monopolies Development Economic Affairs Enterprises EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator General Staff Local Governments Navy Sharia and the Foundations Village Affairs