Adnan Menderes (1899–1961) was a Turkish politician and Prime minister (1950–1960).
He was born in 1899 in Aydın as the son of a wealthy landowner. After the primary school, Menderes completed American College in İzmir. He graduated from the Law School of Ankara Üniversitesi in 1935. He fought in the World War I and was awarded "İstiklal Madalyası" (Liberty medal).
In 1930, Menderes organized a branch of the short lived "Serbest Fırka" (Free Party) in Aydin. After the ban of this party, he joined Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (Republican People’s Party) and was elected deputy of Aydin in 1931. In 1945, he was expelled from the party with two other colleagues due to inner-party opposition.
On January 7, 1946, he formed Demokrat Parti (Democratic party), the first legal opposition party in Turkey. He was elected deputy of Kütahya in the 1946 elections and became the second man in the party after Celal Bayar. When the DP came to power after the elections on May 14, 1950, Menderes became prime minister, and in 1955 he also assumed the duties of foreign minister. During the 10 years of his term of prime ministry, Turkish domestic and forign politics experienced great changes. Industrialization and urbanization started in Turkey. Agriculture was mechanized; transport, energy, education, health care, insurance and banking progressed. Turkey learned the conception of development.
Menderes became quite famous of selling or distributing most of the estate he had inherited to small shareholder. He was more tolerant towards traditional lifestyles and the different forms of practice of Islam than Atatürk and his party had been. While remaining pro-Western, he was more active than his predecessors in building relations with Muslim states. Menderes had a more liberal economical policy than earlier prime ministers, and allowed more private enterprise. In general his economical politics made him popular among the poor half of the population, but it also brought the country in insolvency due to an enormous increase in imports of goods and technology. But he was most intolerant towards criticism, and instituted press censorship and had journalists arrested. Menderes became increasingly unpopular among both the intellectuals and the military, who feared that the ideals of Atatürk were in danger. This eventually brought upon him his fall.
On May 27, 1960 a military coup under General Cemal Gürsel toppled the government, and Menderes was arrested along with some other party members, charged with violating the constitution, and executed by hanging on the island İmralı on September 17,1961. Many years after his death, his grave was moved to a mausoleum in İstanbul on September 17, 1990.
A university in Aydin and the international airport in İzmir are named after him.
