Mustafa
Kemal, born in Salonika in 1881, was a student
at the Manastir Military academy and later
at the War College in Constantinople. This
officer who became a general and who was
a member of the Young Turks movement
and a front-runner in the revolution, wanted
to free the country from the decadent sultanate
regime. During World War I, he made
the Anglo-French expedition fail in the
Dardanelles. In 1919 after the capitulation
of the Ottoman government following the
Erzurum
and Sivas
Congresses, he was given the mission to
preserve the integrity of the Turkish territory
which was beeing sliced up. He was elected
President of the Grand National Assembly
in April 1920.
Atatürk
He
led the War of Independence from 1920 till
1922 and totally liberated Anatolia. Proclaimed
first President of the Republic in 1923,
he never stopped fighting in order that Turkey
became a modern state.
In 1934 when everyone had to take a surname, the
National Assembly gave him the surname Atatürk,
which means “Father of the Turks”. He died
on 10 November 1938 in Istanbul, aged 57.
MODERN TURKEY
The
War of Independence took place between
1919 and 1922 against the victorious Allies
who wanted to control the Anatolian territory.
On the 23rd of April 1920, the Grand National
Assembly with Mustafa Kemal as the
president, called a meeting in Ankara
to form a nationalist government. The Treaty
of Sèvres, which sliced up Anatolia,
sharing it in zones of influence of the
foreign powers, triggered off the war against
Greece (1920-1922) that led to the reconquest
of Izmir
(smyrna). The Treaty of Lausanne
(24th of July 1923) established the sovereignty
of modern Turkey, defining its frontiers
and arranging for exchanges of populations
between Greece and Turkey. The independence
of the Turkish nation was total.
Mustafa Kemal elected President
of the Grand National Assembly
The Republic was proclaimed on the 29th
of October 1923 and Mustafa Kemal was elected
president.
Ankara replaced Istanbul
as the capital. Of the vast empire, only the heart
called Anatolia was left as well as a small territory
in Europe called Eastern Thrace. In order to drag
his people away from the hold of Islam, Mustafa
Kemal, during 15 years, devoted all his energies
to the national revolution. His programme
of reforms was to eliminate the obstacles that
were against Turkey’s good relations with western
countries.
The reforms
- 1922: abolition of the sultanate - 1923: establishment of the republic
- 1924: abolition of the caliphate - 1925: abolition of the religious courts;
suppression of religious brotherhoods, of religious
schools (medrese); unification of education; abolition
of religious clothing and veil for the women;
replacement of traditional clothing and fez by
western style clothing; replacement of the Moslem
calendar by the Gregorian calendar, Sunday becoming
the official day of rest instead of Friday; adoption
of the international time system. - 1926: adoption of Swiss civil law code
in replacement of Islamic law, of German commercial
law, and Italian penal code. - 1928: introduction of Latin alphabet;
abolition of polygamy and obligation of civil
wedding. - 1930: women are given the right to vote
in local elections. - 1931: adoption of metric system.
-
1934: women are given the right to run
as a candidate in national elections; implementation
of compulsory and free state education in
mixed schools; suppression of former titles;
purification of Turkish
language from Arabic and Persian words;
introduction of family names: Mustafa Kemal
takes the name of Atatürk meaning
“father of the Turks”.
Atatürk
Economy: the state
encouraged the development of industry and agricultural
activites: banks and factories were created, mining
resources were exploited, buying and selling prices
were set, important works were undertaken. Foreign
concessions were suppressed, transport and big industrial
firms were nationalized. The sultan’s lands were
parceled out and given to the peasants.
Foreign policy: successful agreements were made
with neighbouring countries and the great powers: -
1932: participation to the League of Nations. - 1934: participation to the Balkan Pact. - 1936: the Montreux Agreement gave back
Turkey the control of the detroits. Participation
to the Saadabad Pact with many Near Eastern countries
( Iraq, Iran, Afganisthan). -
1938: France that held the mandate of the League
of Nations over Syria, retroceded the Sandjak (department)
of Alexandretta under the name of Iskenderun.
- Death of Atatürk
on November 10, 1938.
POST-KEMALIST TURKEY
İsmet Inönü (1884 –1973) who was twice
elected Prime Minister during Atatürk’s presidency,
became second President until 1950 and
kept Turkey neutral during World War II,
symbolically declaring war to Germany and Japan
in February 1945. Inönü, faithful to the memory
of Atatürk, prepared the country for democratic
elections, giving up a unique party and economical
interventionism. Turkey’s best allied country
was the United States who took the country under
the Marshall Plan in
1948. Turkey also became a member of NATO in 1952.
The military coup of 1960: in
1950 the Democratic Party (DP) won the elections
against Inönü’s Republican People Party, and led
the country until its overthrow by a coup on May
27,1960. The Democratic Party leaders were imprisoned
and brought to trial on the charges of coruption,
unconstitutional rule and high treason. Three
former ministers including Menderes
were executed. Democracy returned in 1963, after
a new Constitution was voted.
However the situation did not improved. The agreements
made with USSR, the departure to Europe of an
excess work force, the devaluation of money and
the rapid development of tourism did not succeed
to stop unemployment and the rise in prices. Petroleum
crisis disrupted economical life. The CyprusCrisis: it
was in that climate of political instability due
to the succession of government coalitions that
the Cyprus Crisis broke out in July 1974.
All these disorders nourished right and left wing
extremists.
In 1571 Cyprus became part of
the Ottoman Empire.
In 1878 Britain made a proposal of alliance to
the Ottoman State against Russia, requesting to
use Cyprus as a base. In exchange of their support,
the Turks relinquished the administration of the
island to the Britishs. In 1914 Britain annexed
Cyprus when the Ottoman State entered World War
I together with Germany. In 1925 Cypriot Turks
were given two years to get Turkish citizenship
according to the Lausanne
Agreement. As a result, many Turks that were
discontented with the English administration emigrated
to Turkey. In the 1930's, Greek Cypriots (78%
of the population), led by the Greek Orthodox
Church, began a movement for "enosis"
or union with Greece. In response, Britain sent
many dissident priests into exile, however the
movement continued to grow, erupting in violence
between Greek and Turkish Cypriots in 1954-55.
In 1960, Britain granted independence, under a
plan including constitutional guarantees for theTurkish
minority. Archbishop Makarios returned from exile
an became President. He attempted to favor the
Greek Cypriots, which alienated the Turkish community
and led to inter-communal violence in 1964, when
a UN peacekeeping force was deployed. On July
15, 1974 a coup was launched to assassinate Makarios
by the ruling military junta in Greece in order
to achieve immediate enosis. Nikos Sampson, an
advocate of enosis who shed blood in the 1950s
and 1960s, was appointed president. Makarios,
after escaping to Britain, went to New York to
address the UN Security Council accusing Greece
of usurping the democratic rights of the people
of Cyprus and the independence and sovereignty
of the Republic of Cyprus. On July 20, 1974 Turkey
used military force and occupied the north of
the island to protect the Turkish minority. On
July 23 Greece's junta fell and a democratic government
under Konstantinos Karamanlis took power and Makarios
returned as President of Cyprus. In July 1975
Turkey, which did not withdraw its troops, declared
a Turkish-Cypriot Federal State in the occupied
North and appointed Rauf Denktaş President. It
was agreed that the Turks in Southern Cyprus and
Greeks in Northern Cyprus would shift places.
In this way, the island was actually divided into
two states represented by two communities. Makarios
died in August 1977 and Cypriot Greeks elected
Democratic Party Leader Spiros Kyprianou as the
President. Cyprus Turkish Federated State and
Turkey did not recognize his presidency, stating
that Kyprianou could only represent the Greeks
in Southern Cyprus. Negotiations between the two
communities took place. However, seeing that the
talks would continue to be fruitless, in May 1983
all intercommunal talks were broken off, and on
November 17, 1983 the Cyprus Turkish Federated
State Assembly unanimously proclaimed the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (officially recognized
by Turkey) and Rauf Denktaş was
elected the first president.
In June 2001 the UN Security Council renewed its
mission in Cyprus and in January 2002 UN-led direct
talks between the two sides are begun. In November,
the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan presented
a peace plan for Cyprus, which envisaged a federation
with two constituent parts, presided over by a
rotating presidency. In December, the EU summit
in Copenhagen invited Cyprus to join in 2004 provided
the two communities agree to UN plan by early
spring 2003. But in March 2003, the UN deadline
for agreement on reunification plan passed without
agreement. Following the failure of UN plan, on
April 23 the checkpoints were opened for the Turkish
and Greek Cypriots to cross the island's dividing
demarcation line for the first time in 30 years,
after the Turkish Cypriot authorities said they
were easing restrictions to build confidence between
the communities. The opening of the borders was
met with unprecedented enthusiasm by both Greek
and Turkish citizens. (click
here for the map of Cyprus).
The military coup of 1980: growing violence
and the government’s ineffectiveness brought about
the military to come to power on September 12,
1980. The leader, Kenan Evren, became head
of state in November 1982 when a third Constitution
was set up after a national referendum. The new
president was elected for a period of seven years
by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (the TBMM,
that holds the legislative power, is a parliament
of 550 members elected every five years). In April
1983 the National Security Council lifted
its ban on political parties. When Turgut Özal
became Prime Minister, he brought to power the
Motherland Party (Anavatan Partisi or ANAP). Özal
with novel ideas and liberal tendencies improved
democracy, redressed and vivified economy, and
allowed Turkey to carve out a place in the world
market.
In 1984 begins the armed conflict
with the PKK (Workers of Kurdistan Party) which
intends to create independent "Kurdistan"
by the armed struggle. This Kurdish
ultra-minority group, claiming to have its roots
in Marxism-Leninism and whose founder and leader
is Abdullah Öcalan known as "Apo",
will make the terror reign during 15 years in
south-eastern Anatolia, killing civilians and
children.
Since 1989: although Turgut Özal is elected
President, succeeding Kenan Evren, the military
still maintains a discreet presence. The liberalization
of the regime increases and a better internal
policy influences the relations with foreign countries.
In 1993Süleyman Demirel succeeds
Turgut Özal after his death. Since then several
coalition governments have been effective:
In 1993
DYP (True Way Party) and SHP ( Social Democratic
Party).
In 1995 DYP
and SHP that merges with CHP Republican People Party).
In 1995 Refah
( Islamic Prosperity Party) wins the elections and
merges with DYP (Refahyol).
In 1998 Refah
is closed, accused to be a threat againt secularism.
It is replaced by FP ( Virtue Party) also closed
in 2001 and replaced by SP (Bliss Party).
In 1999 a
new coalition government was formed by DSP (Social
Democratic Party) with Bülent Ecevit as Prime
Minister, MHP (Nationalist Action Party) with
Devlet Bahçeli as Vice-Premier, and ANAP (Motherland
Party) with Mesut Yılmaz as other Vice-Premier.
On February
16, 1999, the leader of the PKK, Abdullah
Öcalan responsible for the death of approximately
30 000 people, is arrested in Kenya by the Turkish
Secret Service (MIT) while he was on the run since
almost the whole of the international community
decided to provide him asylum no longer.
The
new President of the Republic Ahmet Necdet Sezer,
former head of the Constitutonial Court, is reputed
for his faithfulness to democratic values and for
his objectivity.
On
August 2, 2002, under this government, the Turkish
Parliament voted in favour of abolishing the
death penalty in peacetime.
In
August 2002, the Turkish Parliament (the Grand
National Assembly) voted to hold early elections
in Turkey on November3, 2002.
The Justice and Development Party
(Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi = AKP),
which is a moderate Islamic - democratic party,
won a parliamentary majority. It is the first time
in 15 years that any party has been in a position
to govern alone which is largely due to voter fury
over a devastated economy.
Justice and Development party had 34-per-cent support,
and Deniz Baykal's centre-left
Republican People's Party (CHP)
had 19 per cent. AKP won 363 seats -- enough to
rule without a coalition --, CHP won 178 seats,
and the Independents won 9 seats.
AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,
a former mayor of Istanbul, couldn't become prime
minister for he was not a member of Parliament because
in 1998 he was convicted for Islamist sedition,
or inciting religious hatred. Erdoğan sent three
names as possible candidates to President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer. Economist Abdullah
Gül, the deputy chairman of the Justice
and Development Party, received a mandate to form
a cabinet.
The
Constitution has since been changed by party legislators,
lifting the ban on Erdoğan's entry to Parliament.
In March 2003 the latter was elected deputy in by-elections
in the southeastern province of Siirt after election
board canceled the November 2002 general polls in
this city because of irregularities.
During Gül's term in office, Erdoğan strongly influenced
policy and ministers (including Gül). Gül resigned from his post to open the way
for Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who, on 14 March
2003, replaced him as Prime Minister and formed
a new Cabinet (Gül has been appointed Foreign Minister).
On December 17, 2004, European Union and Turkey
reached an agreement to begin talks on October 3,
2005, aimed at bringing the Turkish nation into
the EU.
On
January 1, 2005, six zeros have been
removed from the Turkish Lira (Türk Lirası). The
new TL and old TL will be in joint circulation during
2005 until the old TL is completely withdrawn from
circulation by the end of 2005. The new currency
unit is the YTL and the international currency
code of the YTL has been determined as TRY
instead of the previous TRL. (See
Useful Tips).
On October 3, 2005
the green light has been given in Luxemburg for
formal opening talks on Turkey's EU full membership.
List of Presidents of the Republic
1. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk : October, 1923
- November, 1938
2. İsmet İnönü : November, 1938 - May, 1950
3. Celal Bayar : May, 1950 - May, 1960
4. Cemal Gürsel : October, 1961 - March,
1966
5. Cevdet Sunay : March, 1966 - March, 1973
6. Fahri S. Korutürk : April, 1973 - April,
1980
7. Kenan Evren : December, 1982 - November,
1989
8. Turgut Özal : November, 1989 - April,
1993
9. Süleyman Demirel : May, 1993 - May, 2000
10. Ahmet Necdet Sezer : May, 2000 - Present
