Bülent Ecevit, former prime minister of Turkey and poet, has died at 81. Ecevit was in a coma for nearly six months following a stroke. Ecevit was the prime minister of the government ordering a military intervention on July 20, 1974, to prevent a coup in Cyprus by Greek forces, dividing the island and setting the stage for the foundation of the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Bülent Ecevit planned the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.