Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal became the countries first president. According to the law on family names Mustafa needed a last name so he was given the name Ataturk. This meant father of the Turks. Without Ataturk, Turkey would not be where it is today.
Turkey entered World War II on the side of the Allies. In 1945, Turkey became a member of the United Nations. After the Soviet Union demanded to have bases in the Turkish Straits, the Truman Doctrine was declared. This enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey.
After the Korean War, Turkey joined NATO. Turkey became a barricade against the Soviet Union expanding into the Mediterranean. In 1974, Turkey intervened and helped overthrow President Makarios of Cyprus and got Nikos Sampson installed in his place. In 1983 the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was established but is only recognized by Turkey.
English: Front of 20 Turkish Lira Türkçe: 20 Tü...
Turkish 10 Lira note.
English: New Turkish Lira Banknotes and coinsTurkey has a republican history, but during the 1980's it began a series of reforms. The prime minister wanted to shift the economy from a statist one to a private sector. This spurred rapid growth but had sharp recessions resulting in an average of 4% GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Due to corruption and large and growing public sector deficits, Turkey had an increased inflation, weak banking, and increased macroeconomics. Turkey has slowly opened up its markets through economic reforms by decreasing government control on foreign trade and investment and the privatization of publicly owned industries, and the liberalization of many sectors to private and foreign membership has sustained amid political debate.
Turkey was one of the fastest growing economies in the world from 2002 to 2007. It had an average of 7.4% rise during these years. The World Bank estimates that Turkey will have another increase of 5.4% in...