Middle East > Turkey > Government

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Administrative divisions 81 provinces (iller, singular - ili); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyonkarahisar, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel (Mersin), Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir (Smyrna), Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon (Trebizond), Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak
Ambassadors from Finland > Current Finnish Ambassadors > Ambassador	Maria Serenius
Ambassadors from Israel > Current Israeli Ambassadors > Israeli Ambassador	Pinhas Avivi
ambassadors to the United States > Ambassador	Ryan Metzler
Capital city	Ankara
Capital city > Daylight saving time +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Capital city > Geographic coordinates	39 56 N, 32 52 E
Capital city > Name	Ankara
Capital city > Time difference UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Constitution	7 November 1982
Copyright > Reference	Art. 27,
Corruption	3.5		[69th of 160]
countries' copyright length > Usual term of copyright protection	70 pma
date of transition to republican system of government > Republic since	July 23, 1920
Diplomatic representation from the US > Chief of mission	Ambassador Ross WILSON
Diplomatic representation from the US > Consulate(s) general	Istanbul
Diplomatic representation from the US > Embassy 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Kavaklidere, 06100 Ankara
Diplomatic representation from the US > FAX	[90] (312) 467-0019
Diplomatic representation from the US > Mailing address PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823
Diplomatic representation from the US > Telephone	[90] (312) 455-5555
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chancery 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chief of mission	Ambassador Nabi SENSOY
Diplomatic representation in the US > Consulate(s) general Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation in the US > FAX	[1] (202) 612-6744
Diplomatic representation in the US > Telephone	[1] (202) 612-6700
Elections > Head of state	Election by parliament
embassies and high commissions in Ottawa > Address	197 Wurtemberg Street
embassies and high commissions in Ottawa > Neighbourhood	Lower Town
Executive branch > A note president must have a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly on the first two ballots and a simple majority on the third ballot
Executive branch > Cabinet Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister
Executive branch > Chief of state President Abdullah GUL (since 28 August 2007)
Executive branch > Election results Abdullah GUL received 339 votes in the third round of voting on 28 August 2007, after failing to garner the two thirds vote required by law in the first two rounds
Executive branch > Elections president elected by the National Assembly for one seven-year terms; prime minister appointed by the president from among members of parliament
Executive branch > Note president-elect must have a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly on the first two ballots and a simple majority on the third ballot
Flag description red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening
Flag modification	5		[163rd of 197]
foreign consulates in Edinburgh, Scotland > Consulate Address	28 Rutland Square
Foreign relations > Croatia > Date of Establishment	August 26, 1992
Foreign relations > Nepal > Date of Establishment	November 15, 1962
General government final consumption expenditure > annual % growth	2.43 %		[66th of 147]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant 2000 US$	27,166,920,000 constant 2000 US$		[23rd of 145]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant 2000 US$ (per capita)	376.978 constant 2000 US$ per c		[47th of 146]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant LCU	9984640000000
General government final consumption expenditure > current LCU	6.365326e+016
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$	47,361,060,000 $		[21st of 169]
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ (per $ GDP)	0.131 $ per $1 of GDP		[88th of 184]
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ (per capita)	657.199 $ per capita		[51st of 184]
Government type republican parliamentary democracy
Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom	Nicholas Baird
Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom > Resident Heads of Missions > Type	Embassy
Independence 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)
Independence Day > Date	October 29
International organization participation ADB (nonregional members), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Judicial branch Constitutional Court; High Court of Appeals (Yargitay); Council of State (Danistay); Court of Accounts (Sayistay); Military High Court of Appeals; Military High Administrative Court
Key ministers > Agriculture	Mehdi Eker
Key ministers > Defence	Vecdi Gonul
Key ministers > Education	Huseyin Celik
Key ministers > Environment	Kursat Tuzmen
Key ministers > Finance	Kemal Unakitan
Key ministers > Health	Recep Akdag
Key ministers > Interior	Abdulkadir Aksu
Key ministers > Justice	Cemil Cicek
Key ministers > Transport	Binali Yildirim
Legal origin French
Legal system civil law system derived from various European continental legal systems; note - member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), although Turkey claims limited derogations on the ratified European Convention on Human Rights; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Legislative branch > Election results percent of vote by party - AKP 46.7%, CHP 20.8%, MHP 14.3%, independents 5.2%, and other 13.0%; seats by party - AKP 341, CHP 112, MHP 71, independents 26; note - seats by party as of 17 December 2007 - AKP 340, CHP 87, MHP 70, DTP 20, DSP 13, independents 6, other 12, vacant 2 (DTP entered parliament as independents; DSP entered parliament on CHP's party list); only parties surpassing the 10% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats
Legislative branch > Elections last held on 22 July 2007 (next to be held on November 2012)
National holiday	Republic Day, 29 October
Parliamentary seats > Female	4%		[118th of 143]
Policy uncertainty > % of managers surveyed ranking this as a major business constraint	31.12 %		[10th of 38]
political parties > Multi party	•
Political parties and leaders Anavatan Partisi (Motherland Party) or Anavatan [Erkan MUMCU]; Democratic Left Party or DSP [Mehmet Zeki SEZER]; Democratic Society Party or DTP [Nurettin DEMIRTAS]; Felicity Party or SP [Recai KUTAN] (sometimes translated as Contentment Party); Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI] (sometimes translated as Nationalist Movement Party); People's Rise Party (Halkin Yukselisi Partisi) or HYP [Yasar Nuri OZTURK]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; Social Democratic People's Party or SHP [Murat KARAYALCIN]; True Path Party or DYP [Mehmet AGAR] (sometimes translated as Correct Way Party); Young Party or GP [Cem Cengiz UZAN]; note: the parties listed above are some of the more significant of the 49 parties that Turkey had on 1 December 2004
Political parties and leaders > Note the parties listed above are some of the more significant of the 49 parties that Turkey had on 1 December 2004
Political pressure groups and leaders Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK [Ismail Hakki TOMBUL]; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Suleyman CELEBI]; Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Omer BOLAT]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Tugurl KUDATGOBILIK]; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Salih KILIC]; Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK [Dervis GUNDAY]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Omer SABANCI]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU]
Prime minister	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Procedures to build a warehouse > number	32		[5th of 168]
Procedures to build a warehouse > number (per capita)	0.444 per 1 million people		[141st of 170]
Procedures to enforce a contract > number	34		[77th of 170]
Procedures to enforce a contract > number (per capita)	0.472 per 1 million people		[151st of 171]
Procedures to register property > number	8		[37th of 167]
Procedures to register property > number (per capita)	111.011 per 1 billion people		[147th of 167]
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament > %	4.4 %		[158th of 174]
Secession attempts	Kurdistan
Start-up procedures to register a business > number	8		[122nd of 171]
Start-up procedures to register a business > number (per capita)	0.111 per 1 million people		[154th of 171]
Status democracy
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal
Time required to build a warehouse > days	232 days		[52nd of 168]
Time required to enforce a contract > days	420 days		[101st of 171]
Time required to register property > days	9 days		[151st of 167]
Time required to start a business > days	9 days		[160th of 171]
Time to prepare and pay taxes > hours	254 hours		[83rd of 169]
Time to resolve insolvency > years	5.9 years		[8th of 151]
Total businesses registered > number	2,111,086		[12th of 71]
Total businesses registered > number (per capita)	29.855 per 1 million people		[39th of 83]
Trademarks, nonresidents	2,101		[21st of 99]
Trademarks, nonresidents (per capita)	0.03 per 1 million people		[65th of 146]
Trademarks, residents	30,136		[10th of 98]
Trademarks, residents (per capita)	0.426 per 1 million people		[34th of 142]
Transnational Issues > Disputes > International complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece in the Aegean Sea; status of north Cyprus question remains; Syria and Iraq protest Turkish hydrological projects to control upper Euphrates waters; Turkey has expressed concern over the status of Kurds in Iraq; border with Armenia remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh
UN membership date	24 Oct. 1945
United Nations mission http://www.un.int/turkey/
Washington, D.C. embassies > Neighborhood	Embassy Row

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