The Liberal Democratic Party ( tr, Liberal Demokrat Parti, LDP) is a

classical liberal Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, econom ...

party in

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

. LDP was founded in 1994 as “''Liberal Parti”'' by Turkish entrepreneur Besim Tibuk. Tibuk was the advisor of Turkish President

Turgut Özal Halil Turgut Özal (; 13 October 192717 April 1993) was a Turkish politician, who served as the 8th President of Turkey from 1989 to 1993. He previously served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey from 1983 to 1989 as the leader of the Mothe ...

until Özal died on 17 April 1993. After the death of

, Besim Tibuk decided to found a new party to emphasize the

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

movement in

. Tibuk first founded the party as Liberal Party but then changed its name to "Liberal Democratic Party". After the failure of his party in the 2002 general elections, Tibuk resigned. Cem Toker was the leader of LDP from 20 June 2005 to 29 January 2017. Since then, Gültekin Tırpancı has been the leader of the party. According to data published in January 2021, the party has 5,227 members. The party uses unorthodox

humorous Humour (Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in th ...

language in its official Twitter accounts.

Policies

Presidential system

Changing Turkey's

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of th ...

, arguing that brought political instability advocate for the full US style presidential system based on the separation of powers. He also opposed the presidential system of the government on the grounds that it does not comply with the separation of powers. He also supported the " No!” vote in the 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum.

Party leaders

Turkish general elections performance

References

External links