Dündar Taşer facts for kids

Dündar Taşer (born April 15, 1925 – died June 14, 1972) was a Turkish soldier and politician. He was a very important person in the movement for Turkish nationalism, which is a strong feeling of pride and loyalty to Turkey.

Early Life and Military Career

Dündar Taşer was born in Gaziantep, a city in Turkey. He came from a family with traditional values. He trained to become an officer in the Turkish Army and eventually reached the rank of Major.

He supported the more traditional parts of the army. In 1960, he took part in a military takeover (called a coup d'état) led by Cemal Gürsel.

Exile and The Fourteen

After the coup, Dündar Taşer became part of a group known as The Fourteen [tr]. This group was led by Alparslan Türkeş. Because of his involvement, Dündar Taşer was sent to Switzerland. There, he worked at the Turkish embassy in Zürich. This was a form of exile, meaning he had to leave his home country for a while.

Entering Politics

After his time in the army, Dündar Taşer had to retire. He then decided to enter politics. He joined with his close friend, Alparslan Türkeş. They became part of a political party called the Republican Villagers Nation Party (CKMP).

Nationalist Movement Party

In 1969, at a meeting in Adana, the party changed its name. It became the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Dündar Taşer helped choose the party's symbol, which is three crescent moons.

He strongly believed in Pan-Turkism. This is an idea that all Turkic peoples should be united. In 1968, he helped set up a camp for about a hundred Turkish Cypriot fighters.

Economic and Social Ideas

Dündar Taşer had clear ideas about how Turkey's economy should work. He thought that many businesses should be owned by private companies, not the government. However, he believed that railways, natural resources, and large factories should stay under government control.

He didn't think the government should be involved in making shoes or managing hotels. He also wanted to create special farming towns for about 5,000 farmers. This was to stop people from moving from the countryside to big cities. To support his ideas about private ownership, he even said that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, also supported private land ownership.

Views on Territory

Dündar Taşer was a strong believer in getting back lost lands. He thought Turkey should reclaim territories it lost during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) in 1877-78. This idea is sometimes called irredentism, which means wanting to get back land that was once part of your country.

Death and Legacy

Dündar Taşer sadly died in a road accident in 1972. After he passed away, his friend, a historian named Ziya Nur Aksun [tr], collected many of his sayings and published them.