List of the main opposition leaders of Turkey

Main Opposition Leader
Ana Muhalefet Lideri
Logo of the largest opposition party
Incumbent Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu since 22 May 2010
Residence	No official residence
Appointer	None
Term length	While leader of the largest political party in the Grand National Assembly that is not in government
Inaugural holder	Kâzım Karabekir (Single-party period) Celâl Bayar (Multy-party period)
Formation	17 October 1924 (Single-party period) 7 January 1946 (Multi-party period)

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The following is a complete list of the main opposition leaders of Turkey, since the inception of the republican period in 1923. The Main Opposition Leader is the leader of the largest political party in the Grand National Assembly that is not in government.

Except for two brief periods (1924–25 and 1930), there were no opposition leaders in the one-party period. Furthermore, there were no opposition leaders during the terms of technocratic governments in the multi-party period (1960–61, 1971–74 and 1980–83).^[1][2][3]

List[]

Term of office	Leader (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Political party
17 October 1924 – 3 June 1925 (229 days)	Kâzım Karabekir (1882–1948)			Progressive Republican Party (TCF)
12 August 1930 – 17 November 1930 (97 days)	Fethi Okyar (1880–1943)			Liberal Republican Party (SCF)
7 January 1946 – 14 May 1950 (4 years, 127 days)	Celâl Bayar (1883–1986)			Democrat Party (DP)
2 June 1950 – 27 May 1960 (9 years, 360 days)	İsmet İnönü (1884–1973)			Republican People's Party (CHP)
20 November 1961 – 25 June 1962 (217 days)	Ekrem Alican (1916–2000)			New Turkey Party (YTP)
25 June 1962 – 6 June 1964 (1 year, 347 days)	Ragıp Gümüşpala (1897–1964)			Justice Party (AP)
6 June 1964 – 20 February 1965 (259 days)	Süleyman Demirel (1924–2015)			Justice Party (AP)
20 February 1965 – 26 March 1971 (6 years, 34 days)	İsmet İnönü (1884–1973)			Republican People's Party (CHP)
26 January 1974 – 17 November 1974 (295 days)	Süleyman Demirel (1924–2015)			Justice Party (AP)
31 March 1975 – 21 June 1977 (2 years, 82 days)	Bülent Ecevit (1925–2006)			Republican People's Party (CHP)
21 June 1977 – 21 July 1977 (30 days)	Süleyman Demirel (1924–2015)			Justice Party (AP)
21 July 1977 – 5 January 1978 (168 days)	Bülent Ecevit (1925–2006)			Republican People's Party (CHP)
5 January 1978 – 12 November 1979 (1 year, 311 days)	Süleyman Demirel (1924–2015)			Justice Party (AP)
12 November 1979 – 12 September 1980 (305 days)	Bülent Ecevit (1925–2006)			Republican People's Party (CHP)
13 December 1983 – 27 June 1985 (1 year, 196 days)	Necdet Calp (1922–1998)			Populist Party (HP)
27 June 1985 – 30 May 1986 (337 days)	Aydın Güven Gürkan (1941–2006)			Populist Party (HP) (until 3 November 1985)
				Social Democrat Populist Party (SHP)
30 May 1986 – 20 November 1991 (5 years, 174 days)	Erdal İnönü (1926–2007)			Social Democrat Populist Party (SHP)
21 November 1991 – 6 March 1996 (4 years, 106 days)	Mesut Yılmaz (1947–2020)			Motherland Party (ANAP)
6 March 1996 – 28 June 1996 (114 days)	Necmettin Erbakan (1926–2011)			Welfare Party (RF)
28 June 1996 – 30 June 1997 (1 year, 2 days)	Mesut Yılmaz (1947–2020)			Motherland Party (ANAP)
30 June 1997 – 17 December 1997 (170 days)	Necmettin Erbakan (1926–2011)			Welfare Party (RP)
17 December 1997 – 14 May 1998 (148 days)	(born 1943)			Virtue Party (FP)
14 May 1998 – 22 June 2001 (3 years, 39 days)	Recai Kutan (born 1930)			Virtue Party (FP)
22 June 2001 – 19 November 2002 (1 year, 150 days)	Tansu Çiller (born 1946)			True Path Party (DYP)
19 November 2002 – 22 May 2010 (7 years, 184 days)	Deniz Baykal (born 1938)			Republican People's Party (CHP)
22 May 2010 – present (11 years, 123 days)	Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (born 1948)			Republican People's Party (CHP)

See also[]

• Politics of Turkey
• Grand National Assembly of Turkey
  • Speaker of the Grand National Assembly

References[]