Turkey

The Republic of Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923 from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire, joined NATO in 1952, becoming the alliance's southeastern anchor on the Soviet Union's southern border. Turkey hosted US Jupiter IRBM missiles from 1961 — a key element of the Cuban Missile Crisis symmetry — and remained a critical NATO partner throughout the Cold War.

• Existed: 1923 CE – present
• Type: Entity
• Government: Parliamentary republic (with military interventions in 1960, 1971, 1980)
• Capital: Ankara