British Assessments of the Factors Leading to the Political Rise of Süleyman Demirel

The Justice Party’s legitimacy in the eyes of the Turkish army was closely linked to the containment of extremist elements within the party. This legitimacy had initially been enabled by the election of Ragıp Gümüşpala, a retired general, as party chairman. His unexpected death in 1964, however, brought the issue of party leadership, and by extension the question of the next prime minister, back onto the political agenda. The British Embassy Ankara reports closely followed this process, with particular attention to the internal factions of the Justice Party and the army’s attitudes towards the party and Süleyman Demirel. In these assessments, the developments that led to Demirel’s election as party chairman and, subsequently, to the premiership are presented in relation to intraparty balances, the renewal of relations between the party and the military, and the perception within the armed forces of Demirel as a reliable figure for maintaining regime stability