← 1996 1995 1994 1997 in Turkey → 1998 1999 2000
Centuries:	20th 21st
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
See also:	List of years in Turkey

Events in the year 1997 in Turkey.^[1]

Parliament

• 20th Parliament of Turkey

Incumbents

• President – Süleyman Demirel
• Prime Minister –

Necmettin Erbakan (up to 30 June)

Mesut Yılmaz (from 30 June)

• Leader of the opposition –

Mesut Yılmaz (up to 30 June)

Necmettin Erbakan (from 30 June)

Ruling party and the main opposition

• Ruling party

Welfare Party (RP) with coalition partner True Path Party (DYP)

Motherland Party (ANAP) with coalition partners Democratic Left Party (DSP) and Democrat Turkey Party (DTP)

• Main opposition

Motherland Party (ANAP) (up to 30 June)

Welfare Party (RP) (from 30 June)

Cabinet

• 54th government of Turkey (up to 30 June)
• 55th government of Turkey (from 30 June)

Events

• 8 January – Democrat Turkey Party was founded by Hüsamettin Cindoruk.
• 11 January – Prime minister Necmettin Erbakan invited religious order leaders to his Office . This invitation caused political unrest
• 24 January – Sabotage to Kirkuk–Ceyhan Oil Pipeline
• 2 February – Beginning of a civil disobedience action 1 minute darkness for a continuous light by turning off the lights every night for 1 minute
• 28 February – In a meeting of National Security Council the military members of the council asked for a secular administration (This event later on was ironically called post modern coup) ^[2]
• 23 April – On children’s day, Tansu Çiller, the vice prime minister, announced that the compulsory education was raised from 5 years to 8 years
• 15 May – Turkey enters northern Iraq with the stated aim of "supporting KDP actions against the PKK."^[3]
• 16 May – Yaşar Kemal won Peace Prize of the German Book Trade
• 22 May – Four male and six female Turkish weightlifters won the gold medal in 1997 European Weightlifting Championships
• 25 May – Galatasaray won the championship of the Turkish football league^[4]
• 21 June – Upon Necmettin Erbakan’s resignation, the president appointed Mesut Yılmaz to form the new government.
• 25 October – Bus accident in Konya Province 49 deaths
• 14 December – At the Luxembourg summit, the European Union decided to continue negotiations with Turkey

Death

• 4 April – Alparslan Türkeş (born in 1917), politician
• 4 May – Esin Engin (born in 1945), musician
• 20 June – Cahit Külebi (born in 1917), poet
• 26 August – Füreya Koral (born in 1910), ceramist
• 26 December – Cahit Arf (born in 1910), mathematician

Gallery

• 
  Süleyman Demirel
• 
  Necmettin Erbakan