a. Structure

The National Security Council was established by Law no. 129 dated 11 December 1962 in accordance with Article 111 of the 1961 Constitution. According to the aforementioned article of the 1961 Constitution and provisions of Law no. 129, the National Security Council was composed of the Prime Minister, Chief of the General Staff, Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers of National Defence, Internal Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Transportation and Labor as well as Chief of Staff and Commanders of the Army, Navy, Air Forces and Gendarmarie under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic. In the absence of the President, the council would meet under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister. Depending on the agenda, Ministers and experts from various institutions would attend to the meetings of the Council upon Prime Minister’s invitation. However, they could not have the right to vote.

The Secretary General of the National Security Council would attended the meetings, but did not have the right to vote.

b. Duties of the Council

According to the Article 2 of the Law No. 129, the duties of the National Security Council were described as follows:

The National Security Council, in order to assist the Council of Ministers in decision making process related to national security issues and providing necessary coordination, was responsible for:

(1) Outlining the principles of the national security policy and as well as its amendment and rectification,

(2) Implementation of these principles, preparing national plans and programs for each national security issue, and determining intermediate and ultimate objectives for their realization, well as coordination of all those works on these subjects,

(3) Determination of all duties and responsibilities of the public organizations, private sector institutions and citizens on total defence and national mobilization and taking necessary legal and administrative measures on this issue,

(4) Determination of basic principles for National Mobilization Plans (Civil Emergency Plans) which would be prepared by the ministries, and harmonization and evaluation of these plans. Basic views on national security issues were to be submitted to the Council of Ministers.

National Security Council would convene on monthly basis. The Chairman of the Council could also call for extraordinary meetings. Simple majority was required in decision-making process. In case of a tie, the side including the Chairman was assumed to form the majority.

c. The Secretariat General of the National Security Council

Duties of the Secretariat General of the National Security Council which was directly linked to the Prime Ministry by Law No. 129 dated 11 December 1962 were as follows:

(1) Making researches on the aforementioned duties of The National Security Council and preparing proposals on these issues.

(2) Follow up of the implementation of all decisions, decrees, plans and the legislation proposed by The National Security Council and approved by the Council of Ministers and preparing periodical reports to be presented to the National Security Council within this context.

(3) Making necessary preparations for the National Security Council meetings.

Establishment, duties and working procedures of the Secretariat General of the National Security Council were determined by a regulation prepared by the National Security Council and approved by the Council of Ministers.

Changes in international arena required alterations in the organizational structure and staff of the Secretariat General of the National Security Council from time to time, in order to protect the country’s national interests and meet its national security needs.

The main departments of the Secretariat General of the National Security Council, put into effect by a Cabinet decree in 1963, are presented below: