Presidential Guard Regiment ( tr, Cumhurbaşkanlığı Muhafız Alayı) was a military unit stationed in

Çankaya Köşkü Çankaya may refer to: * Çankaya, Ankara (neighbourhood), a neighbourhood in Ankara, Turkey * Çankaya, Ankara (district), a district of Ankara, Turkey, which includes the Çankaya neighbourhood * Çankaya, İzmir, a neighbourhood in Konak dist ...

, the official residence of the

Prime Minister of Turkey The prime minister of the Republic of Turkey (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanı'') was the head of government of the Republic of Turkey from 1920 to 2018, who led a political coalition in the Grand National Assembly of ...

(office abolished in 2018) and until 2014 the official residence of the

President of Turkey The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the government of Tu ...

. The Guard Regiment was the only unit in the

Land Forces Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chi ...

to wear

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and white ceremonial uniforms.

History

The Turkish Presidential Guard Regiment was established in July 1920 under President Atatürk. Its original role was to provide security in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

, in what was then a small and isolated city. As a battalion sized unit it saw active service during the war with Greece. In 1927 the Guard Battalion, as it was then known, was expanded to 2,500 men and renamed as the Presidential Guards Regiment. During World War II the unit was expanded again and restructured as a brigade and then a division. In 1948 it was reduced to battalion strength and in 1953 merged with the separate Parliamentary Guard Battalion, under its final title of Presidential Guard Regiment. Primarily visible as a ceremonial and honor guard unit, the regiment included a horse mounted escort. Under President Erdoğan during 2015 the Guard provided small detachments in various historic Ottoman costumes at public functions. Following the abortive coup attempt of 2016, almost 300 members of this unit were arrested. Shortly thereafter, the Turkish government announced that the entire Presidential Guard Regiment was to be disbanded. Though plans for full disbandment were subsequently abandoned, the Presidential Guard was reorganised and its ceremonial responsibility for the protection of the presidential palace was handed over to a special police operations unit.

Commanders

References

Guards of honour Military units and formations of Turkey Presidents of Turkey Military units and formations established in 1920 {{mil-unit-stub