Celâl Bayar, Turkish lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Turkey (b. 1883)
Mahmud Celâleddin "Celâl" Bayar (16 May 1883 – 22 August 1986) was a Turkish economist and politician who was the third President of Turkey from 1950 to 1960; previously he was Prime Minister of Turkey from 1937 to 1939.
Bayar began his career in the Committee of Union and Progress, establishing its Izmir and Bursa branches. Following the declaration of the Republic, he founded much of Turkey's early financial institutions, including the country's first bank, İş Bankası. An advocate of liberal economic policies, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk appointed Bayar prime minister in 1937 to liberalize the economy, until he resigned in 1939 under Atatürk's successor, İsmet İnönü.
Until 1945, he was a member of Republican People's Party (CHP) which was the sole legal party. On 7 January 1946, he founded the Democrat Party along with Adnan Menderes, Fuat Köprülü and Refik Koraltan beginning Turkey's multiparty period, which still goes on to this day. A peaceful transfer of power from the CHP to DP happened in the 1950 elections, after which Bayar as elected Turkey's third president on 22 May 1950. He was subsequently re-elected in 1954 and 1957, serving for 10 years as president. In that period, Menderes was his prime minister. He was overthrown and incarcerated in the 1960 coup d'etat, after which he advocated for the restoration of rights of former politicians associated with the Democrat Party.
He is considered to be the longest-lived former head of state and was the longest-lived state leader until 8 December 2008 (when he was surpassed by Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum). Celal Bayar died on 22 August 1986 at the age of 103 after a brief illness.