Today in History – 24/25 October

Ecevit as the new general secretary of CHP

Leading the vision “left of the center” within CHP, Zonguldak deputy Bülent Ecevit was met with cheers by the party delegates at the 18th CHP Convention, where this motto was adopted as the official political line of the party. During this period, Ecevit increasingly stood out with his diligence, eloquence, and his democratic left stance within the party.

Speaking on the third day of the Convention, Ecevit defined his vision of “the left of the center” as the “expression of a new movement that does not contradict the party’s agenda.” According to him, CHP was setting a wall against the extreme left with this stance. Ecevit believed that if the Justice Party could do the same to the extreme right, democracy would have the opportunity to live on forever.

During the October 24th meeting of the party council, Bülent Ecevit, then 41, was elected as the general secretary of the 43 year-old CHP.