Mesut Yilmaz

Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz has signed a pact with an opposition faction for early general elections next year under which he is to resign by December, government sources said. The leftist opposition had promised to support a package of economic reforms if Yilmaz called early polls and announced that he will quit in favor of an "independent" preelection government.

The government of conservative Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz collapsed Wednesday after losing a no-confidence vote in parliament, plunging the country into a fresh period of political uncertainty. Yilmaz's minority coalition with leftist leader Bulent Ecevit fell after lawmakers voted 314-214 against it. Shortly after the vote, Yilmaz submitted his formal resignation to President Suleyman Demirel. Yilmaz will remain in office as caretaker premier until a new government is formed.

Turkey's center-right prime minister resigned, and the leader of a growing, anti-Western party demanded his turn in power. After resigning, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz immediately began talks aimed at building a new coalition to govern Turkey. It was not clear if he would ask Parliament's biggest party, the anti-Western Welfare movement, to join. Welfare leader Necmettin Erbakan wasn't willing to wait. He demanded the chance to form a government of his own immediately.

Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz has signed a pact with an opposition faction for early general elections next year under which he is to resign by December, government sources said. The leftist opposition had promised to support a package of economic reforms if Yilmaz called early polls and announced that he will quit in favor of an "independent" preelection government.

Mesut Yilmaz, a former foreign minister, was appointed prime minister of Turkey two days after winning control of the ruling Motherland Party from outgoing Prime Minister Yildirim Akbulut. He was offered the post after ousting Akbulut in a party congress. Akbulut, handpicked by President Turgut Ozal when Parliament chose Ozal as president in November, 1990, resigned Sunday.

A plan by Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz to quit later this year to allow early elections plunged the nation back into political turmoil, just as the government was making headway against economic troubles. Senior figures in the coalition slammed an accord Yilmaz reached with an opposition power broker to dissolve the government later this year and set up an interim administration.

With his coalition government in tatters, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz ignored demands Saturday for his resignation. But Yilmaz only slowed down a chain of events that appears headed for another round of political bargaining to try to piece together a new government. "Turkey never saw such dirty political games," said Imren Aykut, a Cabinet minister and deputy chairwoman of Yilmaz's Motherland Party. A government collapse would probably give the Islamic Welfare Party another shot at power.

The government of conservative Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz collapsed Wednesday after losing a no-confidence vote in parliament, plunging the country into a fresh period of political uncertainty. Yilmaz's minority coalition with leftist leader Bulent Ecevit fell after lawmakers voted 314-214 against it. Shortly after the vote, Yilmaz submitted his formal resignation to President Suleyman Demirel. Yilmaz will remain in office as caretaker premier until a new government is formed.

Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias arrived in Turkey on Monday for a second round of talks with his Turkish counterpart, Mesut Yilmaz. The talks are intended to further improve ties between the once-feuding neighbors.

A conservative secularist took over as prime minister at the head of an uneasy alliance seeking to keep Islamists out of power after months of political chaos. Mesut Yilmaz said his left-right coalition will end intense arguments about the role of Islam in public life and possible intervention by the secularist military. But Yilmaz still must win a confidence vote.

A plan by Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz to quit later this year to allow early elections plunged the nation back into political turmoil, just as the government was making headway against economic troubles. Senior figures in the coalition slammed an accord Yilmaz reached with an opposition power broker to dissolve the government later this year and set up an interim administration.

Turkey's center-right prime minister resigned, and the leader of a growing, anti-Western party demanded his turn in power. After resigning, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz immediately began talks aimed at building a new coalition to govern Turkey. It was not clear if he would ask Parliament's biggest party, the anti-Western Welfare movement, to join. Welfare leader Necmettin Erbakan wasn't willing to wait. He demanded the chance to form a government of his own immediately.

With his coalition government in tatters, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz ignored demands Saturday for his resignation. But Yilmaz only slowed down a chain of events that appears headed for another round of political bargaining to try to piece together a new government. "Turkey never saw such dirty political games," said Imren Aykut, a Cabinet minister and deputy chairwoman of Yilmaz's Motherland Party. A government collapse would probably give the Islamic Welfare Party another shot at power.

Mesut Yilmaz, a former foreign minister, was appointed prime minister of Turkey two days after winning control of the ruling Motherland Party from outgoing Prime Minister Yildirim Akbulut. He was offered the post after ousting Akbulut in a party congress. Akbulut, handpicked by President Turgut Ozal when Parliament chose Ozal as president in November, 1990, resigned Sunday.

Turkey's ruling Motherland Party ousted its leader in an apparent attempt to reverse a plummeting popularity that could threaten the post of pro-American President Turgut Ozal. Delegates to a stormy party congress in Ankara threw out Prime Minister Yildirim Akbulut. It is expected that former Foreign Minister Mesut Yilmaz, 43, will be chosen as the new prime minister and will conduct a major Cabinet reshuffle.

Police using batons, dogs and water cannons broke up a protest by thousands of Islamists marching through Turkey's capital, Ankara, to challenge Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz's effort to curtail religious education. Witnesses said police repeatedly charged demonstrators outside the Education Ministry after hours of protests. The Anatolian news agency said 11 people were hospitalized. Estimates of the crowd size ranged from 6,000 to 15,000.