Deniz Baykal

Deniz Baykal, Ph.D.
Deniz Baykal. May 18, 2008.
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 31 October 1995 – 6 March 1996
Preceded by	Ali Coşkun Kırca
Succeeded by	Emre Gönensay
Leader of the CHP
In office 9 September 1992 – 10 May 2010
Preceded by	Bülent Ecevit
Succeeded by	Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu
Personal details
Born	July 20, 1938 (1938-07-20) (age 73) Antalya, Turkey
Political party	Republican People's Party
Spouse(s)	Olcay Baykal
Alma mater	University of Ankara University of California Columbia University
Religion	Sunni Islam

Deniz Baykal (born 20 July 1938 in Antalya, Turkey) is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP).

Biography

Baykal was born to Hüseyin Hilmi and Feride in Antalya. He was educated at the University of Ankara Faculty of Law. He later studied at the University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University as a Rockefeller scholar. Following this, he has completed his Ph.D. by 1963 at the University of Ankara Faculty of Political Science. He became an Associate Professor at the same faculty, where he lectured until 1973.

He became a professional politician with the support and encouragement of Bülent Ecevit. He was elected a MP from the Republican People's Party in 1973. He served as the Minister of Finance, Energy and Foreign Affairs in various times throughout his career, as well as one term as a Deputy Prime Minister.

Following the 1980 Turkish coup d'état, along with the other prominent figures of all political parties, he also was arrested, and had been banned from all political activities for five years by the military regime. In 1987 he came back to political scene again, and joined the Social Democratic People's Party. He was elected as a MP from Antalya in 1987 General Elections.

He was elected to the second chair of the Social Democratic People's Party as the General Secretary in 1988.

In 1992, with the abandonment of laws prohibiting the re-foundation of former political parties, he led a significant movement and re-established the historical Republican People's Party (CHP), which had been closed down by 1980 military regime. He was elected as the leader of the party, a post he held until May 2010. Today, his social democratic and secular Republican People's Party is still the second biggest of the country and is the major opposition party in the parliament. ^[1]

Baykal always hold his ground as a staunch supporter of a strong response to terrorism. ^[2]

He resigned from the leadership of CHP on May 10, 2010. Criticism of his private life after an alleged video-tape showing him in the same bedroom with his former secretary, and a member of parliament Nesrin Baytok, was leaked to the media played a major role in his resignation.^[3]

The 'Baykal Era' of the Republican People's Party not only finalized with this resignation, but his successor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu who came in power in December 2010, swiftly removed all prominent figures of the party who were close to Baykal, and a new administration, mostly consisting of brand-new names some were not even former members of the party, were placed in leading positions. This 'New' and controversial post-Baykal period CHP had been tested in the 2011 General Elections, which turned out to be a failure for Kılıçdaroğlu. However, Deniz Baykal was re-elected as a MP from his hometown, Antalya, which strengthened his role as the strongest figure in CHP.

References

1. ^ http://www.biyografi.info/kisi/deniz-baykal
2. ^ http://www.turktime.com/haber/Baykal-Terorle-Mucadelede-Kararli-Olunmali/28248
3. ^ "Turkey's opposition: Sex, lies and video". The Economist. 13 May 2010. http://www.economist.com/node/16116821. 

Political offices
Preceded by Sadık Tekin Müftüoğlu	Minister of Finance of Turkey January 26, 1974–November 17, 1974	Succeeded by Bedri Gürsoy
Preceded by Hikmet Çetin	Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey Oct 30, 1995–Mar 6, 1996	Succeeded by Nahit Menteşe
Preceded by Ali Coşkun Kırca	Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Oct 31, 1995–Mar 6, 1996	Succeeded by Emre Gönensay
Party political offices
Preceded by Bülent Ecevit	Leader of the Republican People's Party Sep 9, 1992–Feb 18, 1995	Succeeded by Hikmet Çetin
Preceded by Hikmet Çetin	Leader of the Republican People's Party Sep 9, 1995–Apr 22, 1999	Succeeded by Altan Öymen
Preceded by Altan Öymen	Leader of the Republican People's Party Sep 30, 2000–May 10, 2010	Succeeded by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu

Persondata
Name	Baykal, Deniz
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	20 July 1938
Place of birth	Antalya, Turkey
Date of death
Place of death