Abstract:

Kenan Evren, the Chief of General Staff, who was the architect of the military coup on 12th September 1980, became the President in 1982. Evren had not visited Western countries until 1988. However, on the developments in world politics, he first visited the United States. A few days after returning to Turkey, he went to England. Evren, who went to England as President on 12-15 July 1988, thus made his first visit to Western Europe. During this visit, President Evren was accompanied by his daughter Miray Goksu, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mesut Yilmaz and his wife, senior bureaucrats in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and journalists. President Kenan Evren and the accompanying delegation, welcomed with magnificent ceremonies on Tuesday, 12th July, witnessed the practices dominated by British diplomatic traditions. The discipline and care in the ceremonies had a profound effect on the Turkish delegation. During the three-day visit, Turkey's attempts to join the European Community (EC), relations between the two countries, developments in Cyprus, NATO and the Middle East were discussed. It is noteworthy that these issues were also discussed 21 years ago. Therefore, the similarities and differences between President Cevdet Sunay's visit to England (1967) and President Kenan Evren's visit to England (1988) are striking. In this study, President Kenan Evren's travel to England will be discussed within the framework of the conditions of the period, and the contacts during the visit will be examined day by day. In addition, the impact of the visit will be determined by referring to the impressions and comments reflected in the national and international press. Finally, the similarities and differences between the two visits will be discussed by comparing it with President Cevdet Sunay's visit to England in 1967. Thus, the importance of President Kenan Evren's visit to England in Turkish-British relations will be revealed.

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