Government of the Grand National Assembly explained

Conventional Long Name:State of Turkey
Native Name:Türkiye Devleti
Common Name:Ankara Government
P1:Ottoman Empire
Flag P1:Flag of the Ottoman Empire (1844–1922).svg
P2:First Republic of ArmeniaArmenia
Flag P2:Flag of Armenia (1918–1922).svg
P3:Occupation of SmyrnaZone of Smyrna
Flag P3:State Flag of Greece (1863-1924 and 1935-1973).svg
P4:Occupation of IstanbulOccupied Istanbul
Flag P4:United Kingdom.svg
P5:Democratic Republic of Georgia
Flag P5:Flag of Georgia (1918–1921).svg
S1:Republic of Turkey
Flag S1:Flag of Turkey.svg
Flag:Flag of Turkey
National Motto:Ya istiklâl ya ölüm!
Image Map Caption:De Jure Situation in the Ottoman Empire following the Treaty of Sèvres.
Capital:Ankara (de facto)
Official Languages:Turkish[1]
Religion:Islam (official)
Government Type: under a parliamentary republicUnrecognized state (until December 1920)
Title Leader:Speaker
Leader1:Mustafa Kemal
Year Leader1:1920–1923
Title Deputy:Prime Minister
Deputy1:Mustafa Kemal
Year Deputy1:1920–1921
Deputy2:Mustafa Fevzi
Year Deputy2:1921–1922
Deputy3:Hüseyin Rauf
Year Deputy3:1922–1923
Deputy4:Ali Fethi
Year Deputy4:1923
Stat Pop1:6–7 million[2]
Date Start:23 April
Year Start:1920
Event1:1st cabinet
Date Event1:3 May 1920
Date Event2:20 January 1921
Event3:Armistice signed
Date Event3:11 October 1922
Event4:Sultanate abolished
Date Event4:1 November 1922
Event5:Treaty of Lausanne
Date Event5:24 July 1923
Event End:Republic proclaimed
Date End:29 October
Year End:1923
Currency:Ottoman lira
Footnotes: As "Speaker of the Grand National Assembly"
As "Commander-in-chief of Army of the Grand National Assembly" after 1921.
Today:Turkey

The Government of the Grand National Assembly (Turkish: Büyük Millet Meclisi Hükûmeti), self-identified as the State of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye Devleti) or Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye),[3] commonly known as the Ankara Government (Turkish: Ankara Hükûmeti),[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] or archaically the Angora Government, was the provisional and revolutionary Turkish government based in Ankara (then known as Angora) during the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1923) and during the final years of the Ottoman Empire. It was led by the Turkish National Movement, as opposed to the crumbling Constantinople Government/Istanbul Government, which was led by the Ottoman Sultan.

During the War of Independence, the Government of the Grand National Assembly commanded the army known as Kuva-yi Milliye ("National Forces"). After the war and victory over the monarchist Constantinople Government, the republican Ankara Government declared the end of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of the Republic of Turkey from its ashes in 1923. The Grand National Assembly is today the parliamentary body of Turkey.

Background

See main article: Turkish War of Independence. At the time the Ankara Government was proclaimed, there existed another Turkish government in the Allied-occupied Constantinople (now Istanbul), namely the Imperial Ottoman Government, often known as the "Constantinople Government" (as opposed to the nationalist Ankara Government). Once the Grand National Assembly was established, on 23 April 1920, without rejecting at first the legitimacy of the Ottoman Sultanate, the new parliament in Ankara formed its own government within the Assembly. The Ministers were called "Vekil" (Acting) instead of the conventional "Nazır", to keep with the provisional nature of the government.

The Ankara Government was founded to represent Turkey because the de jure capital, Constantinople, was under occupation. The president of the GNA (renamed the Grand National Assembly of Turkey after 8 February 1921) and later of the Republic of Turkey, was Mustafa Kemal Pasha. Once the Armistice of Mudanya was signed, replacing the Armistice of Mundros (signed by the Ottoman Empire in 1918 at the end of World War I) and ending the Turkish War of Independence, the GNA abolished the imperial Sultanate, which was accused of collaborating with the Allies during the occupation of Turkey.

The Constantinople Government, representing the Ottoman sultanate and the old imperial and monarchical order, initially refused to recognize the Turkish national movement and the Government of the Grand National Assembly in Ankara, holding that it alone was the legitimate government of the Ottoman Empire. It attempted to militarily defeat the Ankara Government using its Kuva-yi Inzibatiye, i.e. the "Forces of Order", commonly known as the "Army of the Caliphate" (as opposed to the GNA's forces, the Kuva-yi Milliye, the "Army of the Nation"), but failed to do so. In 1921, diplomatic teams from both the monarchist Constantinople Government and the republican Ankara Government appeared at the Conference of London. In a surprising move, however, the Ottoman diplomatic team led by Ahmet Tevfik Pasha gave in and allowed the Turkish diplomatic team led by Bekir Sami Kunduh to be the sole representatives of the country at the conference. The Treaty of Lausanne was signed on 24 July 1923, between the representatives of the Allies and of Ankara, thus officially recognizing the government of Ankara as the legitimate Turkish government.

On 29 October, the National Assembly declared the Republic of Turkey.

The governments

The governments prior to the Republic were used to be called "Executive ministers of Turkey." They were:

See also

References

  1. https://www.anayasa.gov.tr/tr/mevzuat/onceki-anayasalar/1921-anayasasi/
  2. Belgelerle Türk tarihi dergisi, Edition 18, Menteş Kitabevi, 1986, page 72.
  3. Book: Eternal Dawn: Turkey in the Age of Atatürk. 86. 2019. Ryan Gingeras.
  4. Esra Yakut: Şeyhülislâmlık: yenileşme döneminde devlet ve din, Kitap Yayınevi Ltd., 2005,, page 198,199.
  5. Pars Tuğlacı: Çağdaş Türkiye, Cem Yayınevi, 1987, Turkey page 358.
  6. Hakan Alan, Avni Alan: İstanbul Şehir Rehberi, ASBOOK, 2007,, page 12.
  7. Yahya Kemal: Eğil Dağlar, Kubbealtı Publishing, 1966,, pages 13, 92-93, 138, 155, 170, 188, 204-205, 232, 302, 338.
  8. William Hale: Turkish Foreign Policy, 1774-2000, Routledge, 2012,, pages 36, 37, 38, 50, 265.
  9. Kemal Kirişci, Gareth M. Winrow: The Kurdish Question and Turkey: An Example of a Trans-State Ethnic Conflict, Routledge, 1997,, pages 71-75, 77-79, 80, 82-84.

External links