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| 1961, May 26 |
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| Promulgation of a new constitution. Among the most significant changes were the addition of a second chamber (the Senate) to the Turkish Parliament, the establishment of a constitutional court, guarantees for individual rights, and political protections for the courts and universities. The army designed the constitution to prevent the rise of another powerful opposition party similar to the Democrats. | 1 |
| In elections for the new government (Oct. 1961), the RPP emerged as the winner but lacked a majority within the Parliament. Its chief rival was the Justice Party, which was more or less the reincarnation of the Democratic Party. Over the next four years, power was exercised by a series of coalition governments led by the RPP. The new president was Cemal Gürsel. Veteran politician Ismet Inönü assumed the office of prime minister and worked hard to restore stability to the system of civilian rule. | 2 |
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| Oct |
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| A Turkish–West German labor agreement allowed “guest workers,” working immigrants excluded from formal citizenship, to settle legally inside West Germany (See 1960s). From 1963 to 1973 the number of legal Turkish immigrants rose from approximately 22,000 to over 600,000 (another 100,000 or so also resided in Germany). Most of these workers found jobs in the service sector or positions requiring unskilled labor. | 3 |
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