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The Turkish nation
in protest to the Mondros Armistice and the Sevres Treaty started
its War of Liberation under the command of Mustafa Kemal (later
given the name "Atatürk" or "Father of Turks"). The war of
independence freed the Turkish homeland of foreign occupation and
eventually led to the founding of the Republic of Turkey. After the
victory, the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara abolished the
office of the Sultan on November 1, 1922, thus ending 631 years of
Ottoman rule in the world.
Atatürk (1881-1938) served as the first president of the young
republic until his death. On July 24, 1923, with the signing of the
Treaty of Lausanne, the independence of the new Turkish State was
recognized by all the states. On October 29, 1923, he declared the
new Turkish State a "Republic". Atatürk, besides being a military
genius, a charismatic leader, was also a comprehensive reformer. He
dispelled his country's archaic beliefs and customs for it was
essential for Turkey to Westernize to progress towards the level of
contemporary civilizations. The series of reforms were welcomed by
the Turkish people. The new Turkish State founded in 1920 requires a
new legal system; thus Atatürk adopted the Swiss Civil Code as
substitute for Canonical Law, and instead of the penal code then in
force brought the Italian Penal Code. As a result of such a
modification, secularism, one of the fundamentals of Kemalism,
signifying the complete separation of government and religious
affairs, was adopted. Also a university reform was introduced in
1933 since the Ottoman systems of education did not meet the needs
of the society. One of the most important reforms of Atatürk was the
abolition of use of the Arabic script and the adoption of the Latin
script; in 1928 the new Turkish Alphabet was adopted. Also with the
reforms of Atatürk, Turkish women, who for centuries had been left
neglected, were given new rights. Thus with the civil code passed,
Turkish women would enjoy equal rights with those of the men, could
be appointed to official posts, would enjoy the right to vote and to
be elected to the Parliament. With the reform on dress, women
stopped wearing veils and "carsaf"; men started to wear western
style hats rather than the "fes". Many other adopted reforms are the
Weekend Act in 1924, in 1925 International Time and Calendar System,
in 1926 Obligation Law and Commercial Law, in 1933 System of
Measures according to western standards, and in 1934 the Surname
Act. As a result of the reforms, Turkey's economic structure was
completely changed for the better. Atatürk's foreign policy is based
on, as he himself has underlined, "Peace At Home, Peace In the
World".
Atatürk's principles are summed up in six fundamentals:
Republicanism, Nationalism, Populism, Etatism, Reformism,
Secularism.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk died in 1938, but attained immortality in the
eyes of his people. Beloved by the people he had delivered, a
magnificent tomb - Anitkabir - was built for him on a prominent hill
in his new capital of Ankara. |
