Sixty-six years after the May 27, 1960 military coup, Türkiye is reflecting on one of the most consequential interventions in its modern political history, which led to the dissolution of parliament, the suspension of the constitution and the execution of elected leaders.
The coup, carried out in the early hours of May 27 by a group of Turkish Armed Forces officers, removed the government of Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and President Celal Bayar. The military justified its takeover by saying the country was sliding into political instability and conflict.
A statement broadcast on state radio at the time said the armed forces had intervened “to rescue the parties from the irreconcilable situation they have fallen into” and to restore democratic order through new elections under a nonpartisan administration.
Instead, the National Unity Committee that seized power dissolved the parliament, suspended political activity and arrested senior government officials, including Menderes and members of his cabinet. Thousands of military officers, judges and academics were also removed from their posts in the aftermath.
The 1960 coup marked the first military takeover against an elected government in Türkiye’s multi-party era, which began in 1950 when the Democrat Party ended decades of single-party rule.
