Motion with four signatures ( tr, Dörtlü takrir) is an important milestone in the parliamentary history of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Background

The Turkish Republic was proclaimed on 29 October 1923. However the

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party ( tr, Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, , acronymized as CHP ) is a Kemalist and social-democratic political party in Turkey which currently stands as the main opposition party. It is also the oldest political party ...

(CHP) was the only party in the parliament. Although two times an opposition party was founded (the Progressive Republican Party of 1924 and the Liberal Republican Party of 1930) both were short lived parties and the Independent Group, an artificially formed opposition group in the CHP was ineffective. But towards the end of the Second World War, an intraparty opposition group was formed in CHP. The most notable member of this group was

Celâl Bayar Mahmud Celâleddin "Celâl" Bayar (16 May 1883 – 22 August 1986) was a Turkish economist and politician who was the third President of Turkey from 1950 to 1960; previously he was Prime Minister of Turkey from 1937 to 1939. Bayar began his c ...

, a former prime minister.(1937-1939)

Land reform

Just after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the law draft submitted by the government about the

land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

(titled "provision of land to farmers") caused a split in CHP. Some land owners who were CHP deputies opposed the draft. In these discussions

Adnan Menderes Adnan Menderes (; 1899 – 17 September 1961) was a Turkish politician who served as Prime Minister of Turkey between 1950 and 1960. He was one of the founders of the Democrat Party (DP) in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He ...

, a deputy from

Aydın Province Aydın Province ( tr, ) is a province of southwestern Turkey, located in the Aegean Region. The provincial capital is the city of Aydın which has a population of almost 200,000 (2012). Other towns in the province include the summer seaside re ...

and a land owner, proved himself as an able debater.

The motion

On 12 June 1945, one day after the

Land Reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

law, four CHP deputies submitted a motion about a renovation of the party regulations. This motion is known as ''The motion with four signatures''. The co-signers were Celal Bayar, Adnan Menderes,

Refik Koraltan Refik Koraltan (1889 – June 17, 1974) was a Turkish politician, having served as the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) from May 22, 1950 to May 27, 1960. Biography Koraltan was born in Divriği, Sivas Province, in ...

and

Fuat Köprülü Fuat is a masculine Turkish given name and the Turkish spelling of the Arabic name Fuad (Arabic: فؤَاد ''fū’ād, fou’ād'') meaning "heart". People named Fuat include: * Fuat Çapa, Belgian-Turkish football manager * Fuat Güner, Turki ...

. But their motion was rejected on the ground that the party was already taking steps towards a more democratic environment. This rejection brought the intraparty opposition into the open. Two of the signatories Adnan Menderes and Fuat Köprülü heavily criticised the party and both were dismissed from the CHP on 21 September 1945. Refik Koraltan followed them. On 26 September 1945 Celal Bayar resigned from the parliament,Türkiye'nin 75. Yılı Sabah Yayıncılık,İstanbul 1978, p.97 but he kept his seat in the party until November of that year.

Aftermath

On 7 January 1946 the four signatories founded the Democrat Party (DP). After the DP won the

1950 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1950. Africa * 1950 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1950 Iranian legislative election Australia * 1950 New South Wales state election * 1950 Queensland state election * 1950 South ...

. Celal Bayar became

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

, Adnan Menderes

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, Refik Koraltan Parliament speaker and Fuat Köprülü became the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

Gallery

File:Mahmut Celâl Bayar.jpg, Celal Bayar File:Adnan Menderes VI. Yasama Dönemi.jpg, Adnan Menderes File:Refik Koraltan.jpg, Refik Koraltan File:Mehmet_Fuat_K%C3%B6pr%C3%BCl%C3%BC.jpg, Fuat Köprülü

References

{{reflist 1945 in Turkey Politics of Turkey Democrat Party (Turkey, 1946–1961) politicians Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians 1945 in Turkish politics