ERKEN HABER - After the liberation of Anatolia from the enemy occupation, a new page was opened in Turkish history with the proclamation of the Republic by the Parliament on October 29, 1923, and the phrase "Sovereignty belongs to the nation unconditionally" took its place in the state administration in its most prominent form.
The torch of independence, which was lit when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk landed in Samsun on May 19, 1919, never went out again thanks to the great struggle of the Turkish nation.
The existence of the new Turkish state was registered with the Treaty of Lausanne signed on July 24, 1923.
On October 13, 1923, 2 months after the second term Turkish Grand National Assembly convened, Ankara became the government center of Turkey. From now on, the name of the current regime had to be given with all its clarity and the head of the new state had to be elected.
Until that day, the presidency was carried out by Mustafa Kemal Pasha as the President of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. On the other hand, some foreign countries wanted the new state regime in Turkey to be determined more clearly for the approval of the Treaty of Lausanne.
The resignation of the Executive Board on October 27, 1923 and the failure to create a cabinet list that would gain the confidence of the Assembly also required an urgent solution to this problem.
“TOMORROW WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE REPUBLIC”
After the government could not be formed until the evening of 28 October 1923, Mustafa Kemal Pasha had Latife Hanım prepare a table for his friends at the Çankaya Mansion.
In the Nutuk, Mustafa Kemal Pasha told what happened at the dinner, where İsmet Pasha, Ali Fuat Pasha, Halit Pasha, Kemalettin Sami Bey were also present:
“It was night… As I was leaving the Parliament building to go to Çankaya, I came across Kemalettin Sami and Halit Pasha, who were waiting for me in the corridors. While Ali Fuat Pasha was departing from Ankara, I had read in that day's newspaper that they had arrived in Ankara under the title of 'A Farewell and a Welcome'. I had not met with them yet. When I realized that they were waiting there until late to talk to me, I informed them through the Minister of National Defense, Kazım Pasha, that they would come to dinner. I told İsmet Pasha and Kazım Pasha and Fethi Bey to come to Çankaya with me. When I went to Çankaya, I met Rize Deputy Fuat and Afyonkarahisar Deputy Ruşen Eşref Bey, who had come to see me. I took them to dinner, too.
During the meal, I said: 'Tomorrow we will declare a Republic'. The friends who were there immediately agreed with my thinking. We left the food. From that moment on, I made a short program on how to act and assigned friends. You will see the implementation of the program I made and the instruction I gave.
Gentlemen, you see that I have never felt the need or need to meet and discuss with all my friends in Ankara to decide on the proclamation of the Republic. Because I didn't doubt that they actually and naturally thought like me. However, some people who were not in Ankara at that time considered the declaration of the Republic to be a reason for their resentment and separation from us, even though they did not have the authority, without informing them, without their opinion and consent.
That night, Mustafa Kemal Pasha and İsmet Pasha prepared the draft law that changed some of the articles of the 1921 Constitution.
“The form of government of the Turkish state is the republic.” After the speeches made in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on the bill containing the provision of the article, at 20.30, the proclamation of the Republic was accepted with the votes of all 158 members who attended the session. The proclamation of the Republic was greeted with "Long Live the Republic" voices and applause.
Thus, the form of government of the new state took its name with all its clarity. With the proclamation of the Republic, the principle of "Sovereignty unconditionally belongs to the nation" has now found its place in the state administration in its most obvious form.
Then the presidential election took place. Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who received the votes of all 158 deputies in the secret ballot, was elected the first president of the new Turkish state by the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Upon this, Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who came to the podium, gave his speech, "The Republic of Turkey will be happy, successful and victorious." He finished with his word.
Thus, the discussions about the name and regime of the state were ended and the issue of the presidency was resolved. The way the government was formed was reorganized.
Accordingly, the president would appoint the prime minister, and the prime minister would choose his ministers and submit them to the president's approval. With this practice, a parliamentary regime was passed instead of the Parliamentary Government System.
IT HAS BEEN CELEBRATED AS A NATIONAL HOLIDAY
While İsmet İnönü was assigned to form the first government, Fethi Okyar was elected as the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
The Turkish people celebrated the proclamation of the Republic on the night of 29 October and on 30 October. With the decree published on October 26, 1924, it was decided to celebrate the proclamation of the Republic with 101 guns and events.
In line with the decision, the events on October 29, 1924 marked the beginning of the celebrations.
On February 2, 1925, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed that October 29 be a feast. The proposal was made by the Parliamentary Constitutional Committee.
