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{{Short description|Islamist political party in Turkey}}
{{for|the Indian political party|Welfare Party of India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox political party
| native_name      = Refah Partisi
| leader           = 
| founders         = Ali Türkmen<br/>Ahmet Tekdal<br/>[[Necmettin Erbakan]]
| colorcode        = {{party color|Welfare Party}}
| slogan           = ''Justice is our goal''
| founded          = 19 July 1983
| banned           = 16 January 1998
| predecessor      = [[National Salvation Party]]
| successor        = [[Virtue Party]]
| headquarters     = [[Ankara]], [[Turkey]]
| ideology         = {{unbulleted list|class=nowrap|style=nowrap|
*[[Millî Görüş]]
*[[Social conservatism]]
*[[Islamism]]
*[[Pan-Islamism]]
}}
| position         = [[Far-right politics|Far-right]]
| religion         = [[Sunni Islam]]
| logo             = Refah Partisi logo.svg
| colors           = {{ublist
 | {{color box|#D60000}} Red (official)
 | {{color box|{{party color|Welfare Party}}}} Hot pink (customary)
}}
| country          = Turkey
| flag = [[File:Flag of the Welfare Party.svg|200px|border|Flag of the Welfare Party]]
}}
[[Image:RefahPartisiClock.jpg|thumb|right|A clock displaying the emblem of the Welfare Party. The party slogan translates as "Justice is our goal."]]
The '''Welfare Party''' ({{langx|tr|Refah Partisi}}, RP) was an [[Islamism|Islamist]] political party in [[Turkey]]. It was founded by Ali Türkmen, Ahmet Tekdal, and [[Necmettin Erbakan]] in [[Ankara]] in 1983 as heir to two earlier parties, [[National Order Party]] (MNP) and [[National Salvation Party]] (MSP), which were banned from politics. The RP participated in mayoral elections at that time and won in three cities [[Konya]], [[Şanlıurfa]], and [[Van, Turkey|Van]]. Their vote percentage was approximately 5%.

The Welfare Party participated in the [[1991 Turkish general election|1991 elections]] in a triple alliance with the [[Nationalist Movement Party]] (MHP) and the [[Reformist Democracy Party]] (IDP). They gained 16.9% of the vote. They won 62 deputies to parliament, but 19 deputies of MHP (with founding Democratic Movement Party on 25 December 1991 and joining the MÇP on 29 December 1991) and 3 of IDP left the Welfare Party after the election. Their popular vote increased over the years until they became the largest party under [[List of Prime Ministers of Turkey|Prime Minister]] Necmettin Erbakan in 1996. The coalition government of Erbakan was [[1997 military memorandum (Turkey)|forced out]] of power by the Turkish military in 1997, due to being suspected of having an [[Islamist]] agenda.<ref name="Behind the Turkish Military’s Soft Coup ">{{cite journal|url=http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/51/294.html|access-date=28 August 2008|title=Behind the Turkish Military's "Soft Coup" |date=19 October 1997|journal=Green Left Weekly|volume=294|first=Michael|last=Karadjis}}</ref>

In 1998, the Welfare Party was [[ban (law)|banned]] from politics by the [[Constitutional Court of Turkey]] for violating the [[Secularism in Turkey|separation of religion and state]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Antisemitism and Conspiracy Theories in Turkey|last=N. Bali|first=Rifat|year=2013|publisher=Libra|isbn=9786054326730|pages=185}}</ref> The ban was upheld by the [[European Court of Human Rights]] (ECtHR) on 13 February 2003. The ECtHR's decision was criticized by [[Human Rights Watch]] for lack of consistency, as the ECtHR had refused [[Human rights in Turkey#Freedom of association|disbanding of other parties]] on several occasions, but the ECtHR defended its decision.<ref name=HRWB>[http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/07/31/turkey19521.htm Turkey: Party Case Shows Need for Reform – Ruling Party Narrowly Escapes Court Ban], ''[[Human Rights Watch]]'', 31 July 2008</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.icnl.org/KNOWLEDGE/ijnl/vol6iss1/special_5.htm |access-date=28 August 2008 |title=Refah Partisi (The Welfare Party) and Others v. Turkey |journal=International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law |volume=6 |issue=1 |publisher=International Center for Not-for-Profit Law |date=September 2003 |issn=1556-5157 |first=Christian |last=Moe |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925194912/http://www.icnl.org/KNOWLEDGE/ijnl/vol6iss1/special_5.htm |archive-date=25 September 2008}}</ref>

Turkey's incumbent [[President of Turkey|president]], [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]], is a former member of the party.<ref>{{cite news |title=Islamist party sees Erdogan support eroding in Turkey election |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-election-felicity-idUSKCN1IU1NB |publisher=Reuters |date=29 May 2018 |access-date=20 November 2019}}</ref> After being banned from politics for a period, he left this Islamist group and founded the [[Justice and Development Party (Turkey)|Justice and Development Party]] (AKP). [[Abdullah Gül]], the former [[President of Turkey]], was the deputy leader of the Welfare Party until its dissolution.

== Dissolution ==
The Welfare Party came into the political sphere at a time when the impoverished public was discontented with the current government.<ref>Çağatay Cengiz, Fatih (31 August 2020). ''Turkey: The Pendulum between Military Rule and Civilian Authoritarianism''. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. pp. 97–129. {{ISBN|978-90-04-43556-8}}.</ref> Relying on Islamic rhetoric, they encouraged certain aspects of [[Sharia|sharia law]]. Turkey, as a secular state, took issue with their religious narrative. Article 2.1 of the [[Constitution of Turkey|Turkish Constitution]] states that Turkey is a “democratic, secular, and social state.”<ref>"[https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Turkey_2017 Turkey 1982 (rev. 2017) Constitution - Constitute]". ''www.constituteproject.org''. Retrieved 2024-05-14</ref> Refah’s theocentric policy and speeches violated this commitment to secularism.  On January 16, 1998, the [[Constitutional Court of Turkey|Constitutional Court]] dissolved the Welfare Party because it had become a “center of activities against the principle of secularism.”<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=European Court of Human Rights |date=2003-02-13 |title=Refah Partisi (and Others) v. Turkey |url=https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng-press?i=003-698131-706228 |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=HUDOC}}</ref>

The Welfare Party then appealed to the [[European Court of Human Rights]] (ECtHR), stating that the Turkish Supreme Court violated Article 11 of the [[European Convention on Human Rights|European Convention of Human Rights]] that protects assembly and association. Refah also complained that its rights protected in Articles 9, 10, 14, 17, and 18 of the Convention and Articles 1 and 3 of Protocol No. 1 had been violated.

Paragraph 2 of Article 11 states that if free speech rights are limited, and both parties agreed that they had been, it must be “necessary in a democratic society.”<ref name=":0" /> The court found that Article 9, which protects freedom of religion, did not protect the Welfare Party from the fact that their policies went directly against the Turkish Constitution. They explained that a political party may campaign for a change in the constitution under two regulations: the campaigning must be done in a democratic and legal manner, and that the change itself must protect fundamental democratic principles.<ref name=":0" /> The court concluded that the Welfare Party’s political agenda did not uphold these two standards. The Welfare Party’s religious roots were considered to be detrimental to the protection of democracy.<ref name=":0" />

The Welfare Party’s ban was the first in a number of party bans in Turkey due to religious circumstances. Turkey’s commitment to progress, unity, and democracy in its early years meant that they often dismantled organizations that threatened any of these three pillars.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kogacioglu |first=Dicle |date=2004 |title=Progress, Unity, and Democracy: Dissolving Political Parties in Turkey |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1555140 |journal=Law & Society Review |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=433–462 |issn=0023-9216}}</ref> Therefore, any separatist or generally revolutionary party threatened Turkish politics and was banned in the Constitutional Court and was deemed an [[List of illegal political parties in Turkey|illegal party]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=O'Donohue |first=Andrew |last2=Tecimer |first2=Cem |date=2024-04-06 |title=Why Party Bans Often Don’t Work: How an Attempt to Ban Turkey’s AKP Backfired |url=https://verfassungsblog.de/why-party-bans-often-dont-work/ |journal=Verfassungsblog |language=en-GB}}</ref> Turkey’s current Prime Minister [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] was originally a member of the Welfare Party, and he used his status as a Islamist leader to garner support for his current party, the [[Justice and Development Party (Turkey)|Justice and Development Party]].<ref name=":1" /> The string of party bans made way for the Justice and Development Party to gain religious and political control.<ref name=":1" />

==Lost Trillion Case==
{{main|Lost Trillion Case}}

After the closure of the party, the Treasury demanded the return of grants worth around one [[trillion (short scale)|trillion]] lira, i.e. one million {{Turkish lira}} in today's currency (around {{Euro}} 99,796). Party officials stated that the funds were spent on party activities. However, an investigation revealed that the official documents were forged.<ref name="hdn1"/><ref name="r1"/><ref name="hdn3"/>

In the beginning of 1999, Necmettin Erbakan and 78 party officials stood trial in Ankara for [[embezzlement]] charges. The case became known as the "Lost Trillion Case" or the "Missing Trillion Case" ({{langx|tr| Kayıp Trilyon Davası}}).<ref name="hdn1"/><ref name="r1"/><ref name="hdn3"/> In March 2002, the court sentenced Erbakan to two years and four months in prison. 68 party officials received sentences of up to one year and two months in prison. The sentences were approved by the [[Court of Cassation (Turkey)|Supreme Court of Appeals]].<ref name="bn1"/><ref name="kna1"/> The [[European Court of Human Rights]] upheld the ban as well.<ref name="ti1"/>

== Foreign policy ==

=== Algerian Civil War ===
In the 1990s, both Algeria and Turkey had similar tensions between Islamists and a secular military. The Algerian military's intervention led to the repression of [[Islamic Salvation Front|FIS]] and the subsequent [[Algerian Civil War]] in 1992, and the Turkish military forced the resignation of the [[Necmettin Erbakan|Erbakan]] government and banned the Welfare Party.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Esposito |first=John L. |date=2000 |title=Islam and Civil Society |url=https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/1697 |journal=RSC Working Papers}}</ref> Referring to the Civil War, [[Necmettin Erbakan]] said "Turkey will not turn into Algeria" in 1992<ref>{{cite news |date=7 November 1992 |title='Türkiye, Cezayir Olmaz' |work=[[Milliyet]]}}</ref> and in 1997.<ref>{{cite web |date=14 May 1997 |title=Erbakan: Türkiye Cezayir olmaz |url=https://www.milliyet.com.tr/siyaset/erbakan-turkiye-cezayir-olmaz-5383492 |access-date=1 April 2023 |website=Milliyet |language=tr}}</ref> However, on 10 May 1997, Welfare Party [[Şanlıurfa Province|Şanlıurfa]] MP İbrahim Halil Çelik threatened that "If you try to close the [[İmam Hatip school]]s under the RP government, blood will be spilled. It would be worse than Algeria."<ref>{{cite news |last=Armutçu |first=Oya |date=17 November 1997 |title=Erbakan tutuklanabilir |work=Hürriyet |url=https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/erbakan-tutuklanabilir-39273980 |access-date=1 April 2023}}</ref> Erbakan and his associates developed ties with FIS, and when Erbakan visited the [[American Muslim Council]] in October 1994, he engaged with FIS representatives.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Robins |first=Philip |date=1997 |title=Turkish foreign policy under Erbakan |url= |journal=Survival |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=82–100 |doi=10.1080/00396339708442913}}</ref>

== Election results ==

=== Grand National Assembly ===
{| class="wikitable"
!Election date
!Party leader
!Votes
!% of votes
!Seats
!Government
|-
|[[1987 Turkish general election|1987]]
| rowspan="8" |[[Necmettin Erbakan]]
|1,717,425
|7.20%
|{{Composition bar|0|450|hex={{party color|Welfare Party}}}}
|{{no|[[Motherland Party (Turkey)|ANAP]]}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[1991 Turkish general election|1991]]
| rowspan="2" |4,121,355
| rowspan="2" |16.87%
| rowspan="2" |{{Composition bar|62|450|hex={{party color|Welfare Party}}}}
|{{no|[[True Path Party|DYP]]-[[Social Democratic Populist Party (Turkey)|SHP]]}}
|-
|{{no|[[True Path Party|DYP]] minority}}
|-
| rowspan="5" |[[1995 Turkish general election|1995]]
| rowspan="5" |6,012,450
| rowspan="5" |21.38%
| rowspan="5" |{{Composition bar|158|550|hex={{party color|Welfare Party}}}}
|{{no|[[True Path Party|DYP]]-[[Republican People's Party|CHP]]}}
|-
|{{no|[[True Path Party|DYP]]-[[Motherland Party (Turkey)|ANAP]]}}
|-
|{{yes|RP-[[True Path Party|DYP]]}}
|-
|{{no|[[Motherland Party (Turkey)|ANAP]]-[[Democratic Left Party (Turkey)|DSP]]-[[Democrat Turkey Party|DTP]]}}
|-
|{{no|[[Democratic Left Party (Turkey)|DSP]] minority}}
|}

=== Local elections ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! rowspan="2" |Election date
! rowspan="2" |Party leader
! colspan="2" |Provincial council
! rowspan="2" |'''Number of municipalities'''
|-
!Votes
!%
|-
|[[1984 Turkish local elections|1984]]
|[[Ahmet Tekdal]]
|780.342
|4.40%
|{{Composition bar|16|1700|{{party color|Welfare Party}}}}
|-
|[[1989 Turkish local elections|1989]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Necmettin Erbakan]]
|2.170.431
|9.80%
|{{Composition bar|74|1984|{{party color|Welfare Party}}}}
|-
|[[1994 Turkish local elections|1994]]
|5.388.195
|19.14%
|{{Composition bar|329|2695|{{party color|Welfare Party}}}}
|}

==See also==
* [[List of Islamic political parties]]
* [[New Welfare Party]]

== References ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=
<ref name="bn1">{{cite news |url=http://bianet.org/bianet/people/114628-ankara-court-rules-that-president-gul-may-be-tried |newspaper=Bianet Bağımsız İletişim Ağı |title=Ankara Court Rules that President Gül May Be Tried |author=Korkut, Tolga |date=20 May 2009 |access-date=27 November 2014}}</ref><ref name="hdn1">{{cite news |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=leaders-of-now-defunct-welfare-party-stand-trial-for-fraud-1999-02-09 |newspaper=[[Hürriyet Daily News]] |title=Leaders of now-defunct Welfare Party stand trial for fraud |date=9 February 1999 |access-date=27 November 2014}}</ref><ref name="r1">{{cite news |url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/politika/abdullah_gul_erbakani_affetti-894457 |newspaper=[[Radikal]] |title=Abdullah Gül, Erbakan'ı affetti |date=19 August 2008 |language=tr |access-date=28 November 2014}}</ref><ref name="hdn3">{{cite news |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/former-president-gul-testifies-in-lost-trillion-case.aspx?pageID=238&nID=74540&NewsCatID=338 |newspaper=[[Hürriyet Daily News]] |title=Former President Gül testifies in 'lost trillion case' |date=19 November 2014 |access-date=28 November 2014}}</ref><ref name="kna1">{{cite news |url=http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticlePrintPage.aspx?id=1407017&language=en |publisher=[[Kuwait News Agency]] |title=Turkish supreme court ratifies imprisonment term for former PM |date=2 December 2003 |access-date=27 November 2014}}</ref><ref name="ti1">{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/necmettin-erbakan-politician-who-served-as-turkeys-first-islamist-prime-minister-2231569.html |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |title=Necmettin Erbakan: Politician who served as Turkey's first Islamist prime minister |author=Childs, Martin |date=4 March 2011 |access-date=27 November 2014}}</ref>}}

==External links==
* [http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=697494&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649 ECHR Third Section judgment (2001)]
* [http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=698813&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649 ECHR Grand Chamber judgment (2003)]

{{Milli Görüş parties}}
{{Historical parties in Turkey}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Welfare Party| ]]
[[Category:Defunct political parties in Turkey]]
[[Category:Banned Islamist parties in Turkey]]
[[Category:Defunct far-right parties in Turkey]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1983]]
[[Category:Defunct Islamic organizations]]
[[Category:Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights]]
[[Category:European Court of Human Rights cases involving Turkey]]
[[Category:1983 establishments in Turkey]]
[[Category:Political parties disestablished in 1998]]
[[Category:1998 disestablishments in Turkey]]
[[Category:Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]]
[[Category:Islamic organizations established in 1983]]
[[Category:Islamic political parties in Turkey]]
[[Category:Conservatism in Turkey]]