1960 Turkish coup d'état

The coup of May, 27th (27 Mayıs Darbesi) was the first coup d'état in Turkey, staged by a group of Turkish military officers acting outside the Staff Chiefs' chain of command, against the democratically elected government of the Democrat Party on 27 May 1960. The incident took place at a time of sociopolitical turmoil and economic hardship, as US aid from Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan was running out and, hence, prime minister Adnan Menderes planning a visit to Moscow in hope of establishing alternative lines of credit. The colonel who declared the coup over radio and also was a member of the junta (tr:Milli Birlik Komitesi), Alparslan Türkeş, had been among the first 16 officers trained by the United States in 1948 to form the stay-behind anti-communist organization, counter-guerrilla. As such, he explicitly stated faith and allegiance to NATO and CENTO in his short address to nation, yet remained vague as for the reasons of the coup.

The junta forced 235 generals and more than 3000 other commissioned officers to retirement; purged more than 500 judges and public prosecutors, and 1400 university faculty members; put the chief of the General Staff, the president, the prime minister and other members of the administration under arrest, followed by the appointment of the commander of the army General Cemal Gürsel, as provisional head of state, prime minister and the minister of defense.

The minister of Interior, Namık Gedik, committed suicide while he was detained in Turkish Military Academy. President Celal Bayar, prime minister Adnan Menderes and several other members of the administration were put on trial before a court appointed by the junta on the island Yassıada in the Sea of Marmara. The politicians were charged with high treason, misuse of public funds and abrogation of the constitution.

The tribunals ended with the execution of Adnan Menderes, Minister of Foreign Affairs Fatin Rüştü Zorlu and Minister of Finance Hasan Polatkan on İmralı island on 16 September 1961. A month later, the administrative authority was returned to civilians.