The Welfare Party ( tr, Refah Partisi, RP) was an Islamist political party in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. It was founded by Ali Türkmen, Ahmet Tekdal, and

Necmettin Erbakan Necmettin Erbakan (29 October 1926 – 27 February 2011) was a Turkish politician, engineer, and academic who was the Prime Minister of Turkey from 1996 to 1997. He was pressured by the military to step down as prime minister and was later ban ...

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

in 1983 as heir to two earlier parties,

National Order Party National Order Party (''Millî Nizam Partisi'', MNP) was an Islamist political party in Turkey, which adopted the ''Millî Görüş'' ideology. It was founded on 26 January 1970 by Necmettin Erbakan. It was closed down on 20 May 1971 by the auth ...

(MNP) and

National Salvation Party The National Salvation Party ( tr, Millî Selâmet Partisi, MSP) was an Islamist political party in Turkey, founded on 11 October 1972 as the successor of the banned National Order Party (''Millî Nizam Partisi'', MNP). The party was formed by a ...

(MSP), which were banned from politics. The RP participated in mayoral elections at that time and won in three cities

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...

Şanlıurfa Urfa, officially known as Şanlıurfa () and in ancient times as Edessa, is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. Urfa is situated on a plain about 80 km east of the Euphrates River. Its climate features ...

, and

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

. Their vote percentage was approximately 5%. The Welfare Party participated in the 1991 elections in a triple alliance with the

Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party (alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party; tr, Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP) is a Turkish far-right and ultranationalist political party. The group is often described as neo-fascist, and has bee ...

(MHP) and the

Reformist Democracy Party The Reformist Democracy Party ( Turkish: ''Islahatçı Demokrasi Partisi,'' abbreviated IDP) was a right-wing Nationalist political party in Turkey formed on 21 March 1984. In 1991 elections; IDP, Welfare Party The Welfare Party ( tr, Refa ...

(IDP). They gained 16.9% of the vote. They won 62 deputies to parliament, but 19 deputies of MHP (with founding Democratic Movement Party on 25 December 1991 and joining the MÇP on 29 December 1991) and 3 of IDP left the Welfare Party after the election. Their popular vote increased over the years until they became the largest party under

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Necmettin Erbakan in 1996. The coalition government of Erbakan was forced out of power by the Turkish military in 1997, due to being suspected of having an Islamist agenda. In 1998, the Welfare Party was

banned A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meanin ...

from politics by the

Constitutional Court of Turkey The Constitutional Court of Turkey ( tr, , sometimes abbreviated as ''AYM'') is the highest legal body for constitutional review in Turkey. It "examines the constitutionality, in respect of both form and substance, of laws, decrees having the for ...

for violating the separation of religion and state. The ban was upheld by the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...

(ECtHR) on 13 February 2003. The ECtHR's decision was criticized by

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...

for lack of consistency, as the ECtHR had refused disbanding of other parties on several occasions, but the ECtHR defended its decision.Turkey: Party Case Shows Need for Reform – Ruling Party Narrowly Escapes Court Ban
''

'', 31 July 2008 The incumbent

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to ...

, was a former member of the party. After being banned from politics for a period, he left this Islamist group and founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Abdullah Gül Abdullah Gül (; ; born 29 October 1950) is a Turkish politician who served as the 11th President of Turkey, in office from 2007 to 2014. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003, and concurrently served as bo ...

, the former President of Turkey, was the deputy leader of the Welfare Party until its dissolution.

Lost Trillion Case

After the closure of the party, the Treasury demanded the return of grants worth around one

trillion ''Trillion'' is a number with two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000,000, i.e. one million million, or (ten to the twelfth power), as defined on the short scale. This is now the meaning in both American and British English. * 1,000,000,000,00 ...

lira, i.e. one million in today's currency (around 99,796). Party officials stated that the funds were spent on party activities. However, an investigation revealed that the official documents were forged. In the beginning of 1999, Necmettin Erbakan and 78 party officials stood trial in Ankara for

embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

charges. The case became known as the "Lost Trillion Case" or the "Missing Trillion Case" ( tr, Kayıp Trilyon Davası). In March 2002, the court sentenced Erbakan to two years and four months in prison. 68 party officials received sentences of up to one year and two months in prison. The sentences were approved by the Supreme Court of Appeals. The

upheld the ban as well.

Election results

Grand National Assembly

References

External links

ECHR Third Section judgment (2001)

ECHR Grand Chamber judgment (2003)
{{Authority control Defunct political parties in Turkey Banned Islamist parties in Turkey Defunct far-right parties in Turkey Political parties established in 1983 Defunct Islamic organizations Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights European Court of Human Rights cases involving Turkey 1983 establishments in Turkey Political parties disestablished in 1998 1998 disestablishments in Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Islamic organizations established in 1983