12th government of TurkeyThe 12th government of Turkey governed Turkey during the early years of the Second World War. It is also known as the second Saydam government.BackgroundThe government was formed after the general elections held on 26 March. The prime minister was Refik Saydam, secretary general of the Republican People's Party. He was also the prime minister of the previous caretaker government.The governmentIn the list below, the cabinet members who served only a part of the cabinet's lifespan are shown in the column "Notes".TitleNameNotesPrime MinisterRefik SaydamMinistry of JusticeFikret SılayFethi OkyarSayfettin Menemencioğlu3 April 1939 – 26 May 193926 May 1939 – 12 March 194112 March 1941 – 9 July 1942Ministry of National DefenseNaci TınazSaffet ArıkanAli Rıza Artunkal3 April 1939 – 5 April 19405 April 1940 – 12 November 194112 November 1941 – 9 July 1942Ministry of the InteriorFaik ÖztrakAhmet Fikri Tüzer3 April 1939 – 6 May 19426 May 1942 – 9 July 1942Ministry of Foreign AffairsŞükrü SaracoğluMinistry of FinanceFuat AğralıMinistry of National EducationHasan Ali YücelMinistry of Public WorksAli Fuat CebesoyMinistry of HealthHulusi AlataşMinistry of Customs and MonopoliesAli Rana TarhanRaif Karadeniz3 April 1939 – 26 May 193926 May 1939 – 9 July 1942Ministry of TransportAli ÇetinkayaCevat Kerim İncedayıFahri Engin3 April 1939 – 20 November 194020 November 1940 – 12 November 194112 November 1941 – 9 July 1942Ministry of EconomyHüsnü ÇakırSırrı Day3 April 1939 – 31 July 194131 July 1941 – 9 July 1942Ministry of CommerceCezmi ErçinNazmi TopçuoğluMümtaz Ökmen3 April 1939 – 1 November 19391 November 1939 – 26 November 194026 November 1940 – 9 July 1942Ministry of AgricultureMuhlis ErkmenAftermathRefik Saydam died on 7 July 1942. He is the only prime minister in the history of Turkey who has died while serving as the prime minister. Ahmet Fikri Tüzer served as the acting prime minister for two days, and another cabinet was formed by Şükrü Saracoğlu on 9 July.