Sunay was born in 1899 in the village of Ataköy near Çaykara in Trabzon Vilayet, Ottoman Empire.

He maintained his office despite increasing terrorist activity, student riots, and threatened coups.

[4] Chief of the General Staff Cevdet Sunay was elected as the fifth president of the Turkish Republic by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on 28 March 1966.

Between 1961 and 1965 Süleyman Demirel, Nihat Erim and Ferit Melen were the most prominent members in President Sunay’s administration.

His body was moved in August 1988 to a permanent burial place in the newly built Turkish State Cemetery in Ankara.