| 1923 |
Establishment of the Turkish
Republic with Ataturk as its first
president |
| 1924 |
Abolition of Caliphate |
| 1925-38 |
Ataturk's
program of reforms to modernize Turkey |
| 1938 |
Death of
Ataturk; Ismet Inonu becomes the
Republic's second president |
| 1939-45 |
Despite
the alliance with Britain and France,
Turkey remains neutral during World War
II |
| 1946 |
Turkey
becomes a charter member of United
Nations |
| 1950 |
Turkey
enters Korean War as a part of United
Nations force; change from a single-party
to a multi-party system |
| 1952 |
Joins the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) |
The attempt of the
victorious Allies to control the Anatolian
territory led to the Turkish War of Independence
(1918-23).
Following the
occupation of Istanbul in 1920 by the British,
Italian and French, a Greek army advanced from
Izmir deep into Anatolia.
While the sultan
offered no resistance, under the leadership of
Kemal Ataturk, the Turkish Nationalists
overturned the postwar settlement embodied in the
Treaty of Sévres (1920) and established the
Republic of Turkey, formally recognized by the
Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.
Mustafa Kemal
retired his military uniform and inspired the
people to an even greater task: Transformation of
the country into the democratic, secular Republic
of Turkey.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
| 1881 |
Birth of Mustafa in Salonika |
| 1893 |
Enters Military Secondary
School where he is given the name of Kema |
| 1899 |
Enters War College in
Constantinople |
| 1902 |
Graduates as lieutenant |
| 1905 |
Posted to 5th Army in
Damascus |
| 1907 |
Posted to 3rd Army in
Salonika |
| 1908 |
"Young Turk"
Revolution in Salonika |
| 1911 |
Posted to General Staff in
Constantinople; goes to Tobruk and Derna
with Turkish Forces, promoted to Major |
| 1912 |
Balkan War; severe defeat,
returns home |
| 1913 |
Appointed Military Attaché
in Sofia |
| 1914 |
Promoted Lieutenant-Colonel;
Turkey signs secret alliance with
Germany; Russia, Britain and France
declare war on Turkey |
| 1915 |
Appointed to reorganize 9th
Division, in Thrace; unsuccessful allied
naval attack on Dardanelles; allied
military landing at Ariburnu (Anzac);
promoted to colonel; appointed to command
16th Army Corps |
| 1916 |
Allied evacuation of
Gallipoli Peninsula; transferred to
Caucasus front; promoted to General and
Pasa |
| 1917 |
Returns to Constantinople |
| 1919 |
Appointed Inspector-General
in Anatolia; lands in Samsun; issues
"Declaration of Independence"
at Amasya; ordered by Government to
return; resigns from the army;
Nationalist Congress at Sivas and
Erzurum; National Pact; new parliament
elected; headquarters at Angora |
| 1920 |
(April 23) First Turkish
Grand National Assembly (TGNA) at Ankara |
| 1921 |
Consecutive battles against
different enemies; given title of Gazi
and rank of Marshal by TGNA |
| 1922 |
Izmir is retaken; proclaims
abolition of Sultanate |
| 1923 |
Treaty of Lausanne; People's
Party; Second GNA; Angora (Ankara)
becomes capital; proclamation of the
Republic; becomes President; marries
Latife in Izmir |
| 1925 |
Divorces Latife |
| 1938 |
Death of Ataturk; succession
of Ismet Inonu as President of the
Republic |
Thousands of
his statues or busts and millions of his photos
have been erected or hung all over the country.
His name has been given to countless
institutions, buildings, streets, parks and
suchlike.
Foreigners unaware
of his accomplishments might think that the Turks
are a bit obsessed with a man now dead for
approximately 60 years.
No other nation on
earth has loved a leader as much as the Turkish
nation loves Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
"Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk differed from the dictators of his
age in two significant respects; his foreign
policy was based not on expansion but on
retraction of frontiers; his home policy on the
foundation of a political system which could
survive his own time. It was in this realistic
spirit that he regenerated his country,
transforming the old sprawling Ottoman Empire
into a compact new Turkish Republic.
....I don't act for
public opinion. I act for the nation and for
my own satisfaction.....
It was a restless
mind, nurtured on those principles of Western
civilization which had influenced Turkish liberal
thought since the nineteenth century; continually
refueled by the ideas of others, which he adapted
and adopted as his own; but always grounded in a
common sense mistrustful of theory..."
His life
He was born in
Salonika in 1881 and named Mustafa. Kemal was a
nickname meaning "perfection" given by
a tutor. He was a good student and did well at
the military academy.
He was one of the
early members of the Young Turks movement and a
front-runner in the revolution which demanded a
constitutional government for the Ottoman Empire.
During the First
World War, he fought on many fronts. In 1915,
then a Lieutenant Colonel, Mustafa Kemal was
commanding a division of troops on the Gallipoli
Peninsula. His actions in the Dardanelles as a
soldier of determination, bravery and brilliance
gave him great standing amongst the soldiers. His
successes against the Allies were well received
by the civilian population and he was acclaimed
as the "Hero of Gallipoli".
This man, a
military genius, soon showed himself as a great
statesman too. After calling national congresses,
he was elected President of the Turkish Grand
National Assembly in April 1920. From then until
his death in 1938, he remained in power in
Turkey.
In 1934 everyone
had to take a surname and Mustafa Kemal received
the surname ATATURK which means "Father of
the Turks". With all that he did for his
country, he really deserved this title.
Reforms
| 1924 |
Abolition
of the Caliphate |
| 1925 |
Abolition
of the fez; suppression of religious
brotherhoods; closing of sacred tombs as
places of worship |
| 1926 |
Adoption
of new Civil Law code |
| 1928 |
Introduction
of Latin alphabet |
| 1934 |
Kemal
takes name of Ataturk when a new law
required Turks to adopt surnames; women
made eligible to vote in elections and to
become members of Parliament |
Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk's reforms can be summarized as
follows:
- Abolition of
the Sultanate and Caliphate;
establishment of the Republic.
- Implementation
of secularism nationwide.
- Abolition of
the religious courts.
- Suppression
of religious brotherhoods; closing of
sacred tombs as places of worship.
- Replacement
of traditional clothing by Western
styles; abolition of the fez.
- Abolition of Medreses,
unification of education, renovations of
school programs according to contemporary
and national needs, opening of new
universities.
- Adoption of
new Civil Law code.
- Adoption of
the solar calendar and changing of the
Moslem holy day of the week, Friday, into
a weekday with Sunday becoming the
official day of rest.
- Introduction
of Latin alphabet.
- Purification
of Turkish language from foreign words.
- Implementation
of "Peace at home, Peace in the
world" as Turkish foreign policy.
Ismet Inonu
The statesman and
career military officer Ismet Inonu, (1884-1973),
became the principal lieutenant of Kemal Ataturk
in the post-World War I struggle for Turkish
independence. Inonu was the Turkish
representative at the Lausanne Conference which
overturned the wartime settlement and established
the Turkish Republic in 1923.
He was twice prime
minister during Ataturk's presidency. As the
second president (1938-50), Inonu kept Turkey
neutral during World War II and prepared the
country for democratic elections, which resulted
in the removal of his Republican People's party
from power (1950). He then led the opposition to
the Democratic party's regime until its overthrow
by a coup in 1960.
The military coup of 1960
Relatively
neglected from 1923 to 1939, the army during the
war had undergone a rapid expansion and a
considerable modernization subsequently with the
aid of US advisers. Many officers feared that the
Democratic Peak (DP) threatened the principles of
the secular, progressive Kemalist state. Some
younger officers saw the army as the direct
instrument of unity and reform. On May 3, 1960,
the commander of the land forces, General Cemal
Gursel, demanded political reforms and resigned
when they were refused. On May 27 the army acted;
an almost bloodless coup was carried out by
officers and cadets from the Istanbul and Ankara
War colleges. The leaders established a 38-man
"National Unity Committee" with Gursel
as chairman. The Democrat Party leaders were
imprisoned. Most of the senior officers wanted to
withdraw the army from politics as soon as
possible and in November 1960 the decision was
taken. The main work of the National Unity
Committee was to destroy the DP and to prepare a
new constitution. The DP was abolished and many
Democrats were brought to trial on charges of
corruption, unconstitutional rule and high
treason. Three former ministers, including
Menderes, were executed; 12 others, including
Bayar, had their death sentences commuted to life
imprisonment. The new constitution was completed
and approved by 61% of the votes at a referendum.
The first elections were held in October 1961.
The army then withdrew from direct political
involvement.
The military coup of
1980
In 1980 the
military, which had watched the growing violence
and the government's ineffectiveness with alarm,
intervened, precipitating a bloodless coup on
September 12. A National Security Council
composed of the military high command took over
governmental duties, naming General Kenan Evren
head of state, quickly dissolved the Assembly,
political parties and the trade unions. The
constitution was suspended and martial law
imposed. In November 1982 a new constitution won
overwhelming approval in a national referendum.
In April 1983 the National Security Council
lifted its ban on political parties and the
following November it transferred power to an
elected unicameral parliament.
In 1989 Turgut
Ozal was chosen by parliament to succeed Evren.
In 1993, Suleyman Demirel succeeded Ozal after
his death. Since then coalition governments have
been effective in the Turkish Grand National
Assembly.
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