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Cemal Gürsel was a Turkish army officer, political leader and the 4th president of Turkey.
He was born in 1895 at Erzurum. After visiting the elementary school in Ordu and the military middle school in Erzincan, he graduated from the Kuleli military high school in İstanbul. During the World War I between 1915-1917, he participated in the Battle of the Dardanelles as an artillery officer. He fought at the Palestine and Syria fronts and became prisoner of war by the British in 1917. He was kept in a prisoner camp in Egypt until 1919. After his release, he returned to Istanbul but went to Anatolia to join Mustafa Kemal and took part in all the western front campaigns in the Turkish War of Independence between 1920-1923.
In 1929, Gürsel graduated from the military academy as a staff officer. From 1946 on, he served in all general ranks up to four-star general and was appointed to Chief army in 1958. He was a very popular military figure and was therefore nicknamed “Cemal Aga” (big brother Cemal). A memorandum he reached to the Minister of Defense in April of 1960 caused him suspension from his post On May 3 he had to leave the army and went to İzmir.
The military overthrew the government on May 27, 1960 after student unrests. Gürsel was chosen as the leader of the military coup that sent President Celal Bayar, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and some other members of the ruling Demokrat Parti (The Democrat Party) to a military court on Yassıada in the Sea of Marmara, accusing them for violence of constitution. He was declared Head of state, Prime minister and Minister of Defense of the 24th government on May 30, 1960. Cemal Gürsel resisted attempts to continue military rule and played so an important role in the preparation of a new constitution and return to the democratic order on July 9, 1961. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey that was formed by the polls held on October 10, 1961 elected him 4th president of Turkey on October 26, 1961. He took an active role in modernization of Turkish Armed Forces and the defense of the free world during the cold war, in particular during the Cuban Missiles Crisis, founded both The Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Council (TUBITAK) and The National Security Council (MGK) charged with governmental advisory duty, and moved Turkey into the direction of European Union membership with Ankara Agreement in 1963.
Because of a paralysis that started in early 1966 and progressed quickly, Cemal Gürsel was flown on February 2 to the Walter Reed military hospital in Washington, D.C. on board of the airplane of US President Lyndon B. Johnson. One week later, he felt into a coma there. The government decided his return to Turkey on March 24. Regarding the health report of a medical committee consisting of 37 doctors at the military hospital GATA in Ankara, the parliament ruled on March 28, 1966 that his presidency terminates in accordance with the constitution due to his inability. He died on apoplexy on September 14, 1966 in Ankara.
He was married to Melahat since 1927 and they had one child.
The Stadium in Erzurum is named after him.
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