Ecevit, (Mustafa) Bülent (1925–2006)

Turkish social democrat politician and prime minister (1974, 1977, 1978–79, and 1999–2002). During his first term of office, he was responsible for ordering the military invasion of Cyprus. After a military coup in 1980, he was imprisoned and banned from active politics until 1987, when he became chairman of the Party of the Democratic Left. He returned as prime minister 1999–2002, heading a coalition with the Motherland Party and the Nationalist Movement Party, but his government's economic reforms proved unpopular. He retired from politics in 2004.

Ecevit was born in Istanbul and educated at Robert College, Istanbul, and at London and Harvard universities. A journalist and a poet, he entered parliament as a representative of the Republican People's Party in 1957 and was labour minister in the government of Ismet Inönü 1961–65. In 1974 he resigned the premiership of a coalition government and called a general election, hoping to win an outright majority, but lost to a conservative coalition headed by Süleyman Demirel. Ecevit was returned to power in 1977, but stood down almost immediately after losing a vote of confidence. During his period in office 1978–79, he introduced martial law to combat terrorism.

Ecevit's publications include the political works, Ortanin Solu/Left of Centre (1966) and Íşçi-Köylü/Workers and Peasants Together (1976), as well as a 1963 translation into Turkish of T S Eliot's play The Cocktail Party.