Dündar Taşer (April 15, 1925 – June 14, 1972) was a Turkish soldier and politician who was a leading figure in

Turkish nationalism Turkish nationalism () is nationalism among the people of Turkey and individuals whose national identity is Turkish. Turkish nationalism consists of political and social movements and sentiments prompted by a love for Turkish culture, Turkish ...

. He was born in

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

to a traditionalist family and underwent training to become an officer in the

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...

, eventually reaching the rank of Major. A supporter of the conservative elements in the army, he took part in the

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

Cemal Gürsel Cemal Gürsel (9 June 1894 – 14 September 1966) was a Turkish military officer and politician who was the fourth president of Turkey, serving from 1960 to 1966 after taking power in a coup d'état. Early life Gürsel was born in the town ...

on 27 May 1960. But as a member of , a group around Alparslan Türkeş, he was sent into exile to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

to serve as a military attache in the Turkish embassy in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

.'Dundar Taser'
Forced to retire from the army, he entered politics along with his close associate Alparslan Türkeş by joining the Republican Villagers Nation Party (CKMP) which was renamed the

Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party, or alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party (, MHP), is a Turkish Far-right politics, far-right, ultranationalism, ultranationalist Political parties in Turkey, political party. The group is often de ...

(MHP) at the Adana Convention of 1969. With his support the party logo of the three crescents was chosen at the same occasion. A strong advocate of

Pan-Turkism Pan-Turkism () or Turkism () is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917), South Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and th ...

and he was responsible for a camp for about a hundred

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...

guerrillas in 1968. He supported the privatization of the Turkish economy except for the railways,

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

and the

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

and expressed his opposition towards a Government which would be responsible for the production of shoes or managing hotels.Uzer, Umut (2016), pp.204–206 Besides he demanded the foundation of agricultural towns of about 5,000 peasants to prevent the migration of the rural population to the urban centers. In support of his capitalist views he portrayed

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

a capitalist landowner. He was a fierce irredentist and advocated for the conquer of the territories lost during the Russo-Turkish war in 1877-78. He died in a road accident in 1972. Following his death his friend, the historian , collected many of his words and published them.'AKSUN, Ziya Nur'
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References

1925 births 1972 deaths Nationalist Movement Party politicians Pan-Turkists Politicians from Gaziantep Road incident deaths in Turkey Turanists Turkish Army officers Turkish nationalists {{Turkey-politician-stub