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

Turkish nationalism Turkish nationalism ( tr, Türk milliyetçiliği) is a political ideology that promotes and glorifies the Turkish people, as either a Turkey#Demographics, national, Turkish people, ethnic, or Turkish language, linguistic group. The term "ultrana ...

. He was born in

Gaziantep Gaziantep (), previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approximat ...

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

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces ( tr, Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of 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 (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

Cemal Gürsel Cemal Gürsel (; 13 October 1895 – 14 September 1966) was a Turkish army general who became the List of Presidents of Turkey, fourth President of Turkey after a coup. Early life He was born in the city of Erzurum as the son of an Ottoman A ...

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

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

to serve as a military attache in the Turkish embassy in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

.'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 The Republican Villagers Nation Party ( tr, Cumhuriyetçi Köylü Millet Partisi, CKMP), alternatively translated Republican Peasants' Nation Party, was a former political party in Turkey. Fusions The party was founded after the fusion of two s ...

(CKMP) which was renamed the

Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party (alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party; tr, Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP) is a Turkish far-right and ultranationalist political party. The group is often described as neo-fascist, and has been ...

(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 is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey), with its aim bei ...

and he was responsible for a camp for about a hundred

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,00 ...

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. O ...

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, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...

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 People from Gaziantep Road incident deaths in Turkey Turanists Turkish Army officers Turkish nationalists {{Turkey-politician-stub