Alparslan Türkeş (1917–1997) was a politician of military background and the founder of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP); as the leader of the Idealist (Ülkücü) movement, he is known by the epithet "Başbuğ" (Supreme Leader).
He became one of the strongest advocates of Turkish nationalism and of the idea of the unity of the Turkic world. He took an active role in the process of rapprochement with the Turkic republics that gained independence with the dissolution of the USSR; he is known for his vision of "a Turkic world from the Adriatic to the Great Wall of China."
Military career
In 1933 he left Nicosia with his family and came to Istanbul aboard the Italian-flagged ship "Vienna," which departed from Limassol. In the same year, on the recommendation of Hüseyin Sırrı Bellioğlu, the İzmit deputy who was born in Nicosia, he enrolled provisionally in the Kuleli Military High School, and his full enrollment took effect once he acquired citizenship of the Republic of Turkey. He graduated from Kuleli Military High School in 1936 and completed the Military Academy (Kara Harp Okulu) in 1938. In 1939 he entered the marksmanship school as an infantry second lieutenant and graduated from it with the rank of lieutenant (P.938-348). In the same year he was posted to Kars and, by swapping his post with a friend from Kars, went to Isparta. There he became engaged on 5 September 1939 to Muzaffer Hanım, the daughter of Refik Yurtsever's elder sister, and married her on 14 January 1940. After staying in Isparta for a year, he was posted to the command of the 5th Company of the 58th Infantry Regiment in Gallipoli and served in Balıkesir, Bandırma, Edincik, Erdek, and Marmara Island.
Training in the United States
Türkeş, who returned to the army after his acquittal, took part in 1948 in an examination held for officers to be sent to the United States for training, and became one of the 16 people who passed the examination. Türkeş, who received "guerrilla warfare" training for two years—first at the American War Academy in the state of Kansas and then at the American Infantry School in the state of Georgia—said of this period: "The Americans were very proud as the victors of World War II, and they were training us, within the framework of the Marshall Plan, to strengthen us against the Soviets."
His return to Turkey and assignment in the United States
Türkeş, who returned to Turkey after the training he received in the United States, was appointed to the Çankırı Guerrilla School with the rank of captain and served there for two and a half years as a "guerrilla instructor." When he passed the War Academy examination he went to Istanbul and graduated from that school with the rank of major (94th class, order no. 39).
In 1955, having taken the foreign-assignments examination, he began duty at the Pentagon, served on the Turkish general staff's delegation to the NATO Standing Committee located in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and remained in the United States until 1958.
At the same time he received training in international economics. In 1959 he was sent to the Atomic and Nuclear School in Germany, and after his training there he was promoted to colonel and appointed head of the NATO branch of the Land Forces Command.
Political career
Türkeş, who rejected Gökhan Evliyaoğlu's proposal to join the Justice Party, announced in May 1963 that they would found the Association for Peace and Ascent (Huzur ve Yükseliş Derneği) in order to bring nationalist circles together. The association's program would later form the basis of the program of the Republican Peasants' Nation Party.
However, this association could not be founded because of Talat Aydemir's second coup attempt. During this process Türkeş made contact with the Talat Aydemir–Fethi Gürcan pair who were preparing the coup, but could not come to an agreement with Talat Aydemir. Thereupon he reported the coup to the government. He himself was arrested over the coup attempt and stayed in prison for 3.5 months; however, because he had informed the government of the coup, he was released.
Sources
- Turkish Wikipedia: tr.wikipedia.org
- English Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org