Hüsamettin Cindoruk

Hüsamettin Cindoruk
President of Turkey
Acting
In office
17 April 1993  16 May 1993
Preceded by Turgut Özal
Succeeded by Süleyman Demirel
Speakers of the Parliament of Turkey
In office
16 November 1991  1 October 1995
Preceded by İsmet Kaya Erdem
Succeeded by İsmet Sezgin
Personal details
Born 1933
İzmir, Turkey
Spouse(s) Dilek Cindoruk
Children 3

Hüsamettin Cindoruk (1933) is a Turkish politician and the 17th Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey between 1991-1995. He has also been the leader of two political parties, notably of the True Path Party.

Biography

He was born in 1933 in İzmir to Turkish Cretan parents. He did all his studies in Ankara, graduated from the prestigious TED Ankara College and attended the University of Ankara, earning a degree in 1955 from the Law School. Following his graduation, he started exercising the lawyer's profession.

He rose to national attention at a relatively young age when, after the 1960 Turkish coup d'état, he became part of the defence team for the imprisoned, and later executed ex-Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and other Democratic Party notables. Despite the final verdict in the case, the one-year-long desperate efforts by the defence team gained widespread respect across Turkey. After the restoration of the civilian rule, he joined the Justice Party and two military coups later, after the 1980 military coup in Turkey, he became in 1985 the Secretary General of the True Path Party, a continuation of the Justice Party in the forced absence from politics of its leader Süleyman Demirel.

He handed over the party leadership to Demirel after his return to politics and with the Democratic Party's election victory in 1991, became the 17th Speaker of the Parliament between 1991-1995. After Süleyman Demirel's election to the Presidency of the Republic vacated by Turgut Özal's death in 1993, he could have become the Prime Minister if he had not opted for a time to remain in his seat, thus opening the way for Tansu Çiller. When he eventually pushed his candicacy forward, Tansu Çiller had gained sufficient momentum within the party. He resigned from the Speaker's position in early 1995 and launched his own political movement around Party for a Democratic Turkey (DTP)[1] But the party did not register successful results in the general elections of 1996. Nevertheless, Cindoruk and his party took part in the government formed by Mesut Yılmaz during that electoral term and after bad results also in the elections of 1999, he quit the chairmanship of the party and left active politics. After years at 2009 he became the leader of Democrat Party and after several months he united Democratic Party and Motherland Party.

Hüsamettin Cindoruk is married and has three children.

Footnotes

  1. Not to be confused with the Democratic Society Party bearing the same initials.

References

Party political offices
Preceded by
Yıldırım Avcı
Leader of the True Path Party
May 14, 1985Sep 24, 1987
Succeeded by
Süleyman Demirel
Preceded by
founded
Leader of the Democratic Turkey Party
Jan 7, 1997Apr 17, 1999
Succeeded by
İsmet Sezgin
Preceded by
Süleyman Soylu
Leader of the Democrat Party
May 15, 2009January 15, 2011
Succeeded by
Namık Kemal Zeybek
Political offices
Preceded by
Kaya Erdem
Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey
Nov 16, 1991Oct 1, 1995
Succeeded by
İsmet Sezgin