The ANAP was considered a centre-right neoliberal and liberal conservative party that supported restrictions on the role that government can play in the economy and also supported private capital and enterprise and some public expressions of religion.

Although the party was composed of a potentially disruptive mixture of Islamic revivalist and secular liberals, he was able to form a majority government, and briefly, democracy was restored.

[8] The party's founders were Turgut Özal, Cavit Şadi Pehlivanoğlu, Mehmet Keçeciler, Mesut Yılmaz, Cavit Kavak, Adnan Kahveci, Cemil Çiçek, Ali Ayağ, Mustafa Taşar, Kaya Erdem, Güneş Taner, Abdullah Tenekeci, Kazım Oksay, Recep Ercüment Konukman, Veysel Atasoy, Halil Şıvgın, Vehbi Dinçerler, Sudi Türel, Necat Eldem, Ali Tanrıyar, Bedrettin Doğancan Akyürek, İbrahim Özdemir, Abdulhalim Aras, Hüsnü Doğan, Leyla Yeniay Köseoğlu, Vural Arıkan, Bedrettin Dalan, Abdülhalim Aras, Nail Kul, Mehmet Altınsoy and Alpaslan Pehlivanlı.

The ANAP won 212 of the 400 available seats and Turgut Özal, the leader of the party, became the Prime Minister.

Özal died in office, and was succeeded by the True Path Party leader, Süleyman Demirel.

[12] During this time, the ANAP leaders transformed the Turkish economy by beginning free-market reforms, particularly cutting down the public area and moving towards privately owned business.

Then, from July 1997 to November 1998, the ANAP was returned to the head of government with the leader Mesut Yılmaz during Turkey's first televised elections.