a. Structure

National Defense Supreme Council was formed by Decree No. 5399, dated 3 June 1949. It was headed by the Prime Minister and composed of the ministers proposed by the Prime Minister and selected together by the Council of Ministers, the Minister of National Defense and the Chief of the General Staff. The President of the Republic was also member of this council. With the decision of Council of Ministers no. 3/9548, dated 1 July 1949, the ministers for the membership of the council were; Minister of Interior, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, Minister of Civil Works, Minister of Economy, Minister of Trade, Minister of Transport, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Enterprises. In case of war, the General Commander of the Armed Forces was the natural member of the Supreme Council. When seemed necessary, the National Defense Supreme Council could call the members of the Military Council and the other relevant experts for consultations.

b. Duties

According to the Law No.5399, the duties of the National Defense Supreme Council were;

(1) To set the principles of the national defense policy to be implemented by the govern-ment,

(2) To identify the duties and responsibilities related to national defense to be assumed by all institutions in the overall public structure, as well as by the citizens to present them to relevant authorities for taking legal and administrative measures.

(3) To follow up the implementation of the measures set in the second article,

(4) To prepare the Total National Mobilization Plan in times of peace and to have it fully implemented if found necessary.

(5) To express its opinions after examining the proposals of the Prime Minister about the national defense.

In order to fulfill all these duties, the National Defense Supreme Council used to convene at least once a month. Decisions of the Supreme Council that could be directly implemented were notified by the Prime Minister to the relevant authorities. The ones which required decisions of the Council of Ministers would be submitted to the Council of Ministers.

c. The Secretariat General of National Defense Supreme Council

In order to carry out the functions of the National Defense Supreme Council, the Secre-tariat General of the National Defense Supreme Council was established in accordance with Article 6 of Law No 5399. The Secretary General was to be appointed by the decision of the Council of Ministers, upon the proposal of the Minister of National Defense with the opinion of the Chief of General Staff.

Staff of the Secretariat General was determined by the National Defense Supreme Council upon the proposal of the Prime Minister. Personnel of the Secretariat General were appointed by the Prime Minister from the officials of the ministries, annexed budget departments and state economy establishments. Those issues related to the promotions and personnel affairs of these officials were executed by their own ministries and departments.

The Secretariat General of the National Defense Supreme Council executed its duties according to Decree no. 14 issued by the Prime Ministry on April 10, 1950.