Home > Nihat Erim

After graduating from Istanbul University Law School in 1936, he studied further to earn his doctorate degree in Paris Law School in 1939. He returned to Turkey to become an assistant professor in 1939 and professor in 1942 at the Ankara University School of Law.

He was appointed as legal advisor to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1943 while he was still in the university. He also served as an advisor in the Turkish committee at the conference on the foundation of the United Nations at San Francisco in 1945. The same year, he was elected and served as the Kocaeli ProvinceKocaeli is the main industrial city of Turkey. The province is huge with its 1,496,000 (2000) inhabitants, a figure which the Turkish government will next update in 2005. The province capital is the city of Izmit. After the earthquake in 1999 it was badly representative at the Turkish ParliamentThe Grand National Assembly Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi in Turkish) is the unicameral parliament of Turkey which carries out legislative functions. Election of its 550 members, who serve five-year terms, is by proportional representation. To participate to join the Republican People's PartyThe Republican People's Party ( Turkish: Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi or CHP) is a left-wing, social democratic and secular Turkish nationalist political party in Turkey. Republican People's Party of Turkey President Deniz Baykal Founded 1923 Headquarters No: (CHP) group at the parliament. In 1949, he served as the Minister of Public Works and later as Deputy Prime Minister.

In 1950, when CHP lost the majority in the parliament after the elections, he lost his seat and became the chief politics editor and leading writer of the "Ulus" newspaper. When Ulus was closed down, he went on to publish his own newspaper, Yeni Ulus–Halkçi (New Nation–Populist) in 1953. In 1956, he participated to the negotiations on CyprusThis is the history of Cyprus. See also the history of Europe, history of present-day nations and states. Narrative the name The metal copper is named after Cyprus. Romans used copper extensively and they received their copper from Cyprus and was known as in London. The same year, he was selected as the Turkish member of the European Commission on Human Rights to serve in this position until 1962. He lead the Turkish committee on the preparation of the Cyprus constitution in 1959, following Zurich and London Agreements. He continued legally advising the Turkish committees at further negotiations on Cyprus at the United Nations.

After the military coup of 1960Events January-February January 1 Independence of Cameroon January 9 Aswan High Dam construction begins in Egypt January 11 Chad declares its independence. January 14 Ralph Chubb, the gay poet and printer, dies at Fair Oak Cottage in Hampshire. January 23, once again he was elected and served as Kocaeli representative at the parliament, and this time was selected as the CHP group head. He was one the focal points of internal conflicts of CHP, opposing the leader Ismet InönüMustafa Ismet Inon ( 1884 December 25, 1973) was a soldier, statesman and the second President of Turkey. He was born in Izmir, graduated from the Military Academy in 1903 and received his first military assignment in the Ottoman army. He won his first mi. The conflict resulted in him being ousted from the party in 1962. He was re-elected to the party's ruling committee taking second highest votes, thus joining the party again.

He served as the Turkish representative at the Council of EuropeThe Council of Europe is an international organisation of 46 member states in the European region. Membership is open to all European states which accept the principle of the rule of law and guarantee fundamental human rights and freedoms to their citizen between 1961 and 1970, and was elected as deputy secretary general in 1961. In 1969, he was appointed as a member of the UN International Law Commission at The Hague.

In Turkey though, after a spree of political violence, and the coup by memorandum, the army forced the resignation of the prime minister Demirel on March 12, 1971, Nihat Erim, while still at the university, was advised to withdraw from his post in the Republican People's Party (CHP) by the National Security Council, which was heavily influenced by the military then, and appointed as a neutral prime minister on March 26, 1971 to form a "national unity" coalition government, the first of a series of weak governments until the elections in 1973.

Erim had to resign when 11 ministers of his cabinet resigned on December 3, 1971, however he was appointed once more by the president Cevdet Sunay and therefore he formed his second cabinet on December 11, 1971. He resigned on April 17, 1972 on health grounds, when his decision to promulgate decree laws was not backed by the parliament. His resignation was approved May 22, 1972 and Ferit Melen , representative of the Van Province was appointed as the new prime minister.

During his prime ministership, a significant contribution he made to Turkish politics was to form a Ministry of Culture, which was until then a mere department within the Ministry of Education. He appointed Talat Halman , journalist-writer as the minister to this newly formed post. His government's prohibiton of opium poppy harvesting in June 1971 with US pressure fired controversy. A change in the constitution brought together a witchhunt for the leftists, reaching its peak after the abduction and killing of the Israeli ambassador Efraim Elrom in January 1971. One of the boldest actions taken during Erim's prime ministry was the closing down of the Turkish Worker's Party (TIP).

He was shot to death by two gunmen in 1980. Radical leftist Turkish militant group Dev Sol (Revolutionary Left) claimed responsibility for the attack. The assassination might have accelerated the military coup in September the same year, lead by the chief of staff Kenan Evren. The motive behind the assassination can be related to the approval by the parliament of the execution of three leftist militants, one being Deniz Gezmis, during his service as prime minister.