Faruk Gürler

Ömer Faruk Gürler (* 1913 in Istanbul ; † 23 August 1975 ibid) was a Turkish general who was last chief of the general staff ( Genelkurmay Başkanı ) of the Turkish armed forces ( Türk Silahlı Kuvetleri ) between 1972 and 1973 . In 1973 he was a candidate from the military leadership for the office of President , but failed in the vote in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey , so that the former admiral and then Senator Fahri Korutürk succeeded Cevdet Sunay as President on April 6, 1973 .

Life

Officer training and promotion to chief of staff

After visiting the Kuleli Kadettenanstalt Gürler graduated from military school ( Harp Okulu ) between 1929 and 1931 , which he finished as a second lieutenant in the artillery . After attending the Artillery School ( Topçu Sınıf Okulu ), he served in various artillery units between 1933 and 1939 and was most recently platoon leader . In 1939 he entered the military academy ( Harp Akademisi ) as an officer auditor and, after graduating in 1942, found employment as an officer and staff officer in various military units, most recently at the headquarters of the Allied Forces South Europe (AFSOUTH) of NATO in Naples .

After his promotion to brigadier general in 1959, he was first deputy commandant of the military school and then deputy commandant of the military academy. After he had been promoted to major general in 1962 , he was first Vice-Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Defense and was then Deputy Commanding General of the XV. Army Corps .

In 1963 Gürler was promoted to lieutenant general and as such was first commanding general of the V Army Corps and then chief of the staff of the land forces ( Türk Kara Kuvetleri ). After he was promoted to general in 1966, he was appointed undersecretary of state in the Ministry of Defense and was then deputy chief of staff before becoming commander in chief of the 2nd Army .

On August 28, 1970 he was appointed commander of the land forces as the successor to Nazmi Karakoç and held this position for two years until he was replaced by Semih Sancar , who two years earlier had succeeded him as Commander in Chief of the 2nd Army. During this time the military coup of March 12, 1971 took place . On March 12, 1971 at 1 p.m., the generals' statement was read out on the radio station of the state radio and television company TRT . Parliament and the government were blamed for anarchy and fratricidal war, social and economic unrest. The future of the Turkish Republic is under serious threat. The memorandum of the Chief of Staff, General Memduh Tağmaç , the Commander of the Army Gürler, the Commander of the Air Force , General Muhsin Batur , and the Commander of the Navy , Admiral Celal Eyiceoğlu , called for the formation of a non-partisan government that could overcome the difficulties. Otherwise the armed forces are ready to take over the administration themselves.

On March 26, 1971, Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel actually resigned and was replaced on the same day by Nihat Erim , a member of the Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (CHP) in the Grand National Assembly .

On August 29, 1972, Gürler finally succeeded General Tağmaç as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces , but was released from this task on March 5, 1973 at his own request.

1973 presidential candidate

After the previous President Cevdet Sunay remained in office until the regular end of his term of office on March 28, 1973, despite increasing terrorism activity, student unrest and the increasing risk of a coup, Gürler was to succeed him in the office of President as a candidate for the military leadership.

However, in the first ballot in the Grand National Assembly, which was chaired by Parliament President Sabit Osman Avcı of the Justice Party ( Adalet Partisi ), the military leadership came to a surprising result: while the presidential candidate of Adalet Partisi, the former General Tekin Arıburun , who was named President of the Senate was also the incumbent president at the time, received 282 of the votes cast, Gürler received only 175 votes. The Democrat Parti candidate and former President of Parliament, Ferruh Bozbeyli , received only 45 votes.

Thereupon the chairman of the Adalet Partisi, Süleyman Demirel , and the chairman of the second largest party in parliament, the Republican People's Party ( Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi ), Bülent Ecevit , agreed on the former admiral and then Senator Fahri Korutürk, who thereupon on April 6, 1973 was elected President.

A few months later, Gürler was elected Senator himself in the elections on October 14, 1973 and was a member of the Senate until he resigned his mandate on June 5, 1974 for health reasons. After his death on August 23, 1975, he was buried in the Cebeci cemetery in Ankara .

Gürler's nephew was General Necdet Üruğ , who was also Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces between 1983 and 1987.

Web links

• Entry in Kim Kimdir? (Who is who?)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 40. yılında tüm ayrıntıları ile 12 Mart muhtırası (March 13, 2011; accessed on August 20, 2012)