101st year... The roadmap of the Republic!

The torch of independence, lit when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk landed in Samsun on May 19, 1919, continues to burn brightly thanks to the great struggle waged by the Turkish nation.

The existence of the new Turkish state was registered with the Treaty of Lausanne, signed on July 24, 1923.

Two months after the convening of the second term of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, Ankara became the government center of Türkiye on October 13, 1923. It was now necessary to clearly define the name of the existing regime and to elect the head of the new state.

Until that day, Mustafa Kemal Pasha had carried out the duties of head of state as the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye. On the other hand, some foreign countries were also requesting that the new state regime in Türkiye be defined more clearly for the ratification of the Treaty of Lausanne.

The resignation of the Council of Ministers on October 27, 1923, and the inability to form a cabinet list that would win the confidence of the Assembly, necessitated an urgent solution to the problem.

"WE WILL PROCLAIM THE REPUBLIC TOMORROW"

Upon the failure to form a government by the evening of October 28, 1923, Mustafa Kemal Pasha had Latife Hanım prepare a dinner for his friends at the Çankaya Mansion.

Mustafa Kemal Pasha recounted what happened at the dinner, which was also attended by İsmet Pasha, Ali Fuat Pasha, Halit Pasha, and Kemalettin Sami Bey, in his work, the Nutuk (Speech):

"It was night... As I was leaving the Assembly building to go to Çankaya, I ran into Kemalettin Sami and Halit Pashas, who were waiting for me in the corridors. I had read in that day's newspaper under the headline 'A Farewell and A Welcome' that Ali Fuat Pasha had come to Ankara when they were leaving. I had not yet spoken with them.

Realizing that they had been waiting there until late to speak with me, I informed them through Minister of National Defense Kazım Pasha that they should come to dinner. I also told İsmet Pasha, Kazım Pasha, and Fethi Bey to come to Çankaya with me. When I arrived at Çankaya, I encountered Rize Deputy Fuat and Afyonkarahisar Deputy Ruşen Eşref Bey, who had come to see me. I asked them to stay for dinner as well.

During dinner, I said: 'We will proclaim the Republic tomorrow.' The friends present immediately agreed with my idea. We left the dinner. From that moment on, I assigned tasks to my friends by creating a short program on how to proceed. You will see the implementation of the program I made and the instructions I gave.

Gentlemen, you see that I never felt the need or necessity to invite all my friends in Ankara to discuss and debate the decision to proclaim the Republic. Because I had no doubt that they, in fact and naturally, thought the same as I did.

However, some people who were not in Ankara at that time, despite having no authority, considered the fact that the republic was proclaimed without them being informed, and without their thoughts and consent being taken, as a reason to be offended and to separate from us."

That night, Mustafa Kemal Pasha, together with İsmet Pasha, prepared the draft law that amended certain articles of the 1921 Constitution for the survival of the country.

"The form of government of the Turkish state is a republic", the provision of which was included in the draft, was accepted with the votes of all 158 members who attended the session at 20:30 after the speeches made in the TBMM (Grand National Assembly of Türkiye).

The proclamation of the Republic was met with shouts of "Long live the Republic" and applause.

Thus, the administrative form of the new state had received its name with full clarity. With the proclamation of the Republic, the principle of "Sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation" also found its place in state administration in its most distinct form.

This is the journey of the Republic...