Ahmet Mesut Yılmaz was a Turkish politician. He was the leader of the Motherland Party from 1991 to 2002, and served three times as Prime Minister of Turkey. His first two prime-ministerial terms lasted just months, while the third ran from June 1997 to January 1999. The first was brought to an end by defeat in the 1991 elections, the latter two by the breakdown of Yılmaz' coalition governments.
Yılmaz in 1996
Foreign Minister Mesut Yılmaz behind Prime Minister Turgut Özal and President of the European Commission Jacques Delors
1991 Turkish general election
General elections were held in Turkey on 20 October 1991, to elect members to the 19th Grand National Assembly. It was the first by the ruling Motherland Party to be contested without its founding leader, Turgut Özal, who had become Turkish president two years previously. The result was a swing against Özal's former party in favour of its fierce centre-right rival, the True Path Party led by Süleyman Demirel. The vote saw two additional parties cross the 10 percent barrier to enter parliament. Necmettin Erbakan and his Welfare Party saw a party of religious background returned for the first time in 14 years. Welfare had a greatly increased share of the vote and took several key provinces, including Istanbul in 1994 local elections. Bülent Ecevit's Democratic Left Party also scraped through to win seven seats. Voter turnout was 83.9%.
Image: Suleyman Demirel 1998 (cropped)
Image: Mesut Yilmaz as Turkish Prime Minister
Image: Necmettin Erbakan
Image: Bülent Ecevit Davos 2000 cropped