On October 29, 1923, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk proclaimed the Turkish Republic during a late-night meeting at Çankaya, ending a sudden cabinet crisis with a unanimous vote in the Grand National Assembly. The nation's fate hung in the balance as political turmoil erupted just hours before the historic declaration, and Ataturk's decisive leadership transformed a brewing storm into a new dawn for Turkey.
The short version
On October 29, 1923, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk orchestrated the proclamation of the Turkish Republic during a late-night session of the Grand National Assembly, quickly resolving a cabinet crisis and securing a unanimous vote. The event marked the formal end of the Ottoman Empire and established a modern, sovereign state.
- The Turkish Republic was proclaimed on October 29, 1923, in Ankara by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
- The declaration followed the resignation of Prime Minister Fethi Okyar and a cabinet crisis on October 27, 1923.
- Ataturk convened a late-night meeting at his Çankaya residence to draft the constitutional amendment.
- The Grand National Assembly voted unanimously to adopt the republic form of government on the same night.
- Ataturk was elected as the first president of the new republic immediately after the proclamation.
The Crisis That Brought Down a Cabinet
By late September 1923, the Grand National Assembly in Ankara was a pressure cooker of discontent, and by 27 October 1923, that pressure blew the cabinet apart. Prime Minister Fethi Okyar resigned from both the premiership and the interior ministry, leaving a power vacuum that his opponents were eager to fill. The crisis wasn't sudden; it had been simmering for weeks, fueled by frustration with İsmet İnönü's role as foreign minister after the Lausanne talks and a growing rift between factions loyal to the old guard.
On that tense October day, Okyar stepped down. His rivals immediately put forward two names for the premiership: Rauf Orbay and Ali Fuat Cebesoy. Both men were respected commanders from the War of Independence, but neither could muster the votes for a confidence motion. The assembly floor buzzed with whispered negotiations, lists of candidates scribbled on scraps of paper, and the clatter of boots as deputies shuffled between meetings. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, watching from his residence in Ankara, let the deadlock deepen. He knew exactly what he was doing.
The chaos was deliberate. As Atatürk later wrote in his famous speech, Nutuk, he intentionally created a "climate of surrender" by letting the opposition spin its wheels. He was confident that Rauf Orbay and Ali Fuat Cebesoy could not form a functional government, and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to lead the country. So he waited, letting the crisis fester until the assembly was desperate for any solution. By 28 October, the stalemate had reached its peak, and the stage was set for Atatürk's boldest move: the proclamation of the republic.
The Night Before the Proclamation
On the evening of 28 October 1923, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk gathered a small circle of trusted men at his Çankaya residence in Ankara for a dinner that would change Turkey forever. At that table, he looked at his guests and said with calm certainty: "We will proclaim the republic tomorrow."
The air was thick with tension. For weeks, a political crisis had been brewing inside the Grand National Assembly. Just the day before, on 27 October 1923, Prime Minister Fethi Okyar had resigned, throwing the government into chaos. Atatürk had deliberately let the crisis deepen, as he later wrote in his famous speech Nutuk, he wanted to create a "climate of surrender" where the republic could be born without serious opposition. And now, the moment had arrived.
Around the dinner table sat İsmet İnönü, soon to be the republic's first prime minister; National Defense Minister Kâzım; Sinop deputy Kemalettin Sami; and Halit Paşa, a former corps commander. Also present were Rize deputy Ekrem and Afyon deputy Ruşen Eşref Bey. These were not casual guests, they were the men Atatürk trusted to carry out the most consequential political act of the young Turkish state.
After the meal, the guests quickly departed. Only İsmet İnönü stayed behind. The two men sat down at a table and began drafting a constitutional amendment to the Teşkilatı Esasiye law of 20 January 1921. That original law had defined the government but left the form of the state vague. The new amendment would change everything: it would declare Turkey a republic and give the president the power to appoint the prime minister, who would then form a cabinet subject to parliamentary approval.
They worked late into the night, writing by lamplight in that quiet Çankaya room. Outside, Ankara slept, unaware that by the next evening, the very foundation of the nation would be remade. The amendment was short, just a few articles, but its weight would echo for a century.
A Deliberately Engineered Surrender
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk didn't just wait for the right moment to proclaim the republic, he deliberately created the crisis that made it inevitable. In his memoir Nutuk, he admitted he intentionally deepened the political chaos to force his opponents into a corner with no escape. By late September 1923, tensions in the Grand National Assembly had escalated into a full-blown political crisis.
Prime Minister Fethi Okyar resigned on October 27, 1923, and the opposition immediately proposed Rauf Orbay and Ali Fuat Cebesoy as candidates for the premiership. But Atatürk knew these men couldn't form a stable government. So he did something calculated: he demanded the resignation of the entire cabinet, sparing only Marshal Fevzi Çakmak, the army chief. The assembly was left scrambling, unable to agree on any alternative.
As the story goes, Falih Rıfkı Atay captured the mood in his book Çankaya: "Everyone in Ankara and Istanbul who could think, see, or hear knew something was coming. The state form would be the republic, and Mustafa Kemal its president." The word "republic" was as feared as "hat" in the old Turkey, associated with godlessness by bigots. Atatürk couldn't win a natural majority through debate. He needed a climate of surrender, and the crisis delivered it.
On the evening of October 28, 1923, Atatürk hosted a small dinner at Çankaya. Among the guests were İsmet İnönü, Defense Minister Kâzım Özalp, and commanders Kemalettin Sami and Halit Paşa. In that intimate gathering, he dropped the bombshell: "We will proclaim the republic tomorrow." After the guests left, Atatürk and İsmet İnönü stayed up late drafting the constitutional amendment to the 1921 Constitution (Teşkilatı Esasiye).
The Assembly Debate and Unanimous Vote
On 29 October 1923, the Grand National Assembly in Ankara was deadlocked, unable to settle on a new cabinet after the resignation of Prime Minister Fethi Okyar on 27 October 1923. Deputy Kemalettin Sami Paşa moved to invite Mustafa Kemal Atatürk to the group meeting. Atatürk asked for an hour's delay, and that afternoon, the republic proposal was submitted.
Yunus Nadi, the founder of Cumhuriyet newspaper, rose to speak. His voice carried across the hall: "The name of this form of government is the republic." He reminded the assembly that the First Grand National Assembly, in 1920, had already established a state under the 1921 Constitution (Teşkilatı Esasiye). Now, the Second Assembly would strengthen those foundations. The chamber listened, tension thick in the air.
Then came Abdurrahman Şeref Bey, a former Ottoman minister. His words struck like a hammer: "National sovereignty, unconditionally, belongs to the nation… The name of the newborn child is the Republic, but some may not like this name. Let them not like it." The room erupted in chants of "Long live the republic!" The constitutional amendment, drafted by Atatürk and İsmet İnönü the night before, passed unanimously. Not a single dissenting vote. The new system allowed the president to appoint the prime minister, who would then form a cabinet subject to parliamentary approval. The crisis, as the story goes, had been engineered to create a climate of surrender, and it worked.
What the Amendment Changed
The constitutional amendment of 29 October 1923 replaced the old system of individually elected ministers with a streamlined executive: the president would now appoint a prime minister, who would then form a cabinet subject to parliamentary approval. This single change ended the chaotic deadlock that had paralyzed the Grand National Assembly for days. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was elected the first president of the Republic of Turkey that same afternoon, and the amendment passed unanimously.
Before the amendment, every minister had to be elected one by one by the assembly, a process that had become a nightmare. During the crisis that began on 27 October 1923, after Prime Minister Fethi Okyar's resignation, the assembly couldn't agree on a single cabinet. Opponents proposed Rauf Orbay and Ali Fuat Cebesoy as prime minister candidates, but neither could secure a vote of confidence. The assembly was stuck, spinning its wheels.
Atatürk, as he later explained in his famous speech Nutuk, deliberately deepened this crisis. He knew the old system was broken. The amendment he drafted with İsmet İnönü on the night of 28 October 1923 cut through the mess. Under the new rules, the president, Atatürk himself, would name a prime minister. That prime minister would pick his own cabinet. Then the whole package would go to the assembly for a single up-or-down vote. No more endless horse-trading over individual ministers.
On 29 October 1923, the assembly debated the change. Abdurrahman Şeref Bey, an old Ottoman statesman who had served as a minister under the sultans, stood up and said: "The name of the newborn child is the Republic, but some may not like this name." The chamber erupted in cheers of "Long live the republic!" The vote was unanimous.
The amendment also formally declared that the form of government was a republic, something the 1921 Constitution had never spelled out. The old document had talked about "national sovereignty" but left the actual system vague. Now it was crystal clear: Turkey was a republic, with a president, a prime minister, and a cabinet responsible to the parliament. The chaos of individually elected ministers was gone for good.
FAQ: What Really Happened on October 28–29, 1923?
Who was present at Atatürk's dinner on 28 October 1923?
Atatürk hosted a small dinner at his Çankaya residence on the evening of 28 October 1923, with key figures including İsmet İnönü, Defence Minister Kâzım, Sinop deputy Kemalettin Sami, and Halit Paşa. He also kept Rize deputy Ekrem and Afyon deputy Ruşen Eşref Bey for the meal. It was during this gathering that Atatürk told his guests, "We will proclaim the republic tomorrow."
Why did the cabinet crisis lead to the republic?
The cabinet crisis began in late September 1923 when Prime Minister Fethi Okyar faced growing opposition in the Grand National Assembly. Okyar resigned on 27 October 1923. Atatürk's opponents proposed Rauf Orbay and Ali Fuat Cebesoy as prime minister candidates, but neither could secure a vote of confidence. Atatürk later wrote in his famous speech Nutuk that he deliberately deepened the crisis to create a "climate of surrender," ensuring the republic could be proclaimed without effective opposition.
Did the public know about the republic declaration beforehand?
According to the original account, the public had no prior knowledge of the specific declaration date. The constitutional amendment was drafted secretly on the night of 28 October 1923 by Atatürk and İsmet İnönü. On 29 October 1923, when the amendment was presented to the assembly, it passed unanimously. Abdurrahman Şeref Bey remarked during the debate, "The name of the newborn child is the Republic, but some may not like this name." The new system allowed the president to appoint the prime minister, who would then form a cabinet subject to parliamentary approval.
Editor's note: Some details of the events leading up to the proclamation remain unconfirmed by official records.
By Turkish History Writing Team
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