"The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, Whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, Is the jewel of the kingdom."
Sun Tzu
... At the late hour on the 28th October I was asked by the leading Committee of the party to be present at their meeting which was then taking place. The President was Fethi Bey. He declared that the Committee had put forward a list of the candidates and they had asked me, as President of the party, to come as they wanted to hear my opinion about it. I ran throught the list and declared that I approved of it, but also that the persons who were mentioned on it ought to be asked for their opinions. Everybody agreed to my proposal. Thus we asked, for example, Yusuf Kemal Bey, who came into question for the Foreign Ministry. He told us that he dclined to accept this office. I concluded from this fact as well as from similar occurrences that the leading committee of the party aslo was not able to put forward a final and acceptable list.
I left the members of the committee, advising them to produce a final list after further consultations with the persons who would come into questions. It was already dark. At the moment I left the building of the Assembly to return to Çankaya, I met Kemalettin Sami Pasha and Halid Pasha in the lobby waiting for me. I had read in the papers under the heading of "Farewell and Reception Ceremonies" that these Pashas had arrived at Ankara exactly on the very day of Ali Fuad Pasha's departure. I had not seen them up to the hour of this meeting in the lobby. When I learned that they had waited till a late hour to see me, I asked them through Minister of National Defense Kazım Pasha to come and dine with me. I also told Ismet Pashai, Kazım Pasha as well as Fethi Bey to accompany me to Çankaya. When I arrived at Çankaya I found Fuat Bey, Deputy of Rize, and Ruşen Eşref Bey Deputy of Afyonkarahisar, there who had also come to talk to me. I also asked them to stay to dinner.
During the meal I declared : " Tomorrow we shall proclaim the Republic."
The Comrades present hastened to join in my opinion. We got up. Immediately afterwards I drafted a short programme of action containing the role which I assigned to each of the Comrades. "You will shortly hear details about the application of this programme and the instructions which I gave."
You have noticed, Gentlemen, that in order to decide on the proclamation of the Republic it was neither necessary for me to call together all my Comrades nor the debate or discuss the question with them. I did not doubt that they were naturally and in principle of the same opinion as I was with regard to the chapter.
Some persons, however, who were not at Ankara at this time and who, by the way, had nothing to say on this question, believed that they should use the fact that the Republic had been proclaimed, without previously asking them and getting their consent, as a pretext for dissatisfaction and contradiction.
The Comrades who were with me this night left early. Only Ismet Pasha was my guest at Çankaya. When we were left alone we drafted a law. The articles of the Constitutional Law of the 20th January, 1921, referring to the State Constitution, I had altered as follows: At the end of the first article I added the sentence: "The form of Government of the Turkish State is a Republic."
Article 3 was altered in the followig way: "The Turkish State is administered by the Grand National Assembly. The latter directs the individual branches of the administration into which the Government is divided through the mediation of the Mininsters."
We drafted in addition the following articles for the purpose of making Articles 8 and 9 of the Constitutional Law more clear:
"The President of the Turkish Republic will be elected in a full sitting of the Grand National Assembly by its members and for the time of a legislative period."
"The mandate of the President lasts till the election of a new President. The President is eligible for re-election."
"The President of the Republic is the Chief of the State. In this capacity he presides over the National Assembly as well as the Council of Ministers when he believes it necessary."
"The President of the Council is elected by the Chief of the State from the members of the Assembly, after which the other Ministers will be elected by the President of the Council from among the said members."
"There upon the President of the Republic submits the list of the entire Cabinet to the Assmebly for approval. If the Assembly is not sitting the approval will be postponed till the next sitting."
The Commision and the Assmebly added to these article the article which is known to you concerning religion and language.
With your permission, Gentlemen, I shall now describe to you what happened at Ankara on Monday, the 29th October:
On this day the group of the People's Party assembled at 10 c'clock in the morning under the Presidency of Fethi Bey, President of the leading Committee. A discussion was opened with regard to the election of the Cabinet.
"The leading Committee" said the President, "has drafted a list of Ministers to present to you, which is not of a definite character. It is for you now to decide. If you will allow, the list will be read to you."
After having said that the presented a list to the Assembly at the head of which was the name of Fuat Pasha, Celal Bey (İzmir), designated as candidate for the Ministry of Economy, spoke and proposed that he be not elected by pointing out the importance of the Cabinet. above all he said the following:
"The persons whose names are quoted on this list are not more important than those who have resigned. The nation demands from us that we put them in a favourable position and carry through reforms. The new Ministers must in amy case have stronger personalities than the old ones. Let us not be in a hurry with the elections. Let us think above all of the election of the President of the Council."
Saip Bey (Kozan) expressed the opinion that Fethi Bey should be elected President of the Assembly and Ismet Pasha President of the Council.
Ekrem Bey ( Rize) "Will the Cabinet be able to fill the void which the old one has left? Might His Excellency the Pasha inform us about this?" (I had not yet arrived at the sitting.)
Zülfü Bey (Diyarbakır) declared that as this task belonged to the competency of the Superior Council of the party the election did not appertain to the leading Committee and finally demanded the concovation of this Council.
Mehmet Efendi (Bolu): "The new Cabinet that we are going to elect will not be able to remain in power for a month. These repeated elections bring the country and nation into a painful situation. Unless the Cabinet clearly explain the reasons for their resignation I shall not participate in the election of any Cabinet. We must know the reasons and can only elect afterwards."
Faik Bey (Tekirdağ): "The persons mentioned in the list do not possess greater authority than the former Ministers. The Superior Council of the party must meet to solve this question."
Vasıf Bey (Saruhan), (after having spoken of Ismet Pasha's services, continued as follows): "Why does he abandon the country and the nation? Our leaders have not informed us of the state of affairs. Why does our honourable President (referring to me) not enlighten us on this subject?"
Necati Bey (İzmir): "We cannot allow the persons who are the support of the nation to abandon us in this manner. Our honourable President must enlighten us. A Cabinet strong towards the interior as well as the exterior is an absolute necessity."
Fethi Bey (the President), believed it necessary to explain that the list was neither proceeding from me nor the Cabinet, but was eleborated by the leading Committee.
Dr.Fikret Bey (Ertuğrul): "I join in the opinion of Vasıf Bey and Necati Bey. The country is not in a very calm state, and an election made at haphazard is inadmisisble. A Cabinet must be elected which consists of personalities possessing authority."
Recep Bey (Kütahya): "Our colleagues must first finish the explanations which they have to give us, so that afterwards His Excellecy the Gazi Pasha can speak." (I had not yet arrived)
İlyas Sami Bey (Muş) : "We beg our honourable President to give us his views. It is better to avert the crisis on the day of its birth. To postpone the solution would result in accentuating the crisis still more. Let us elect a President of the Council and grant him a delay of 24 hours for the election of his colleagues. We must have a strong Cabinet in power."
Abdurrahman Şeref Bey (the late delegate of İstanbul): " Some of our comrades are alarmed although crises of this sort have occurred in all countries. The aim of all us is the welfare of the country. It is true that we are not successful in creating a mechanism which can work according to our wish. But how shall we arrive at having a strong Government? How shall we find the reason for the evil? Let us study the Constitutional Law and determine the authorities of the Government. The Assembly must declare themselves with regard to their opinions and convictions. His Excellency, our President, will on his part tell us his views, so that we can come to a solution. Everybody is fit for word and must be used accordingly. Do not let us occupy ourselves with personalities. We are united in the higher aims. Let the Pasha-President give us his opinion."
Eyüp Sabri Efendi (Konya): "We see ourselves in any case under the pressure of an election. It is striking that the former Cabinet have decided not to take over the Government again, even though they were re-elected. The High Assembly must move the destructin of this resolution."
Recep Bey (Kütahya): "I am going to speak of three essential points: firstly, of the form ; secondly, of the lack of activity; and thirdly, of the breach of our moral coherence. If the form is faulty, there is no satisfactory result. We are ignorant as to when and under what conditions the comrades of value, who are mentioned on the list, will work. The chif thing is that a person possessing authority should form a Government by indicating its members himself."
(Then Recep Bey gave long declarations especially with regard to the last point.)
Talat Bey (Ardahan): "Recep Bey and Abdurrahman Şeref Bey have well explained the situation. What is the task of the President of the Council? We have not yet adopted the authorities and responsibilities of the Ministers. We beg the Gazi-Pasha to enlighten us."
Thereupon the President put the motion for the closing of the debate to the vote. Several orther motions were read, Kemalettin Sami Pasha's being adopted.
According to the contents of this motion I was commissioned by the full sitting to solve the question in my capacity as President of the Party.
During these discussions, I was at my house at Çankaya. Following Kemalettin Sami Pasha's motion I was called to the meeting. Immediately after my entrance into the hall I ascended the speaker's tribune and made the following short proposal:
"Gentlemen", I said, "you see that opinions regarding the question of the election of the Ministers are divided. Grant me an hour's time. I will then submit to you the form of the solution which I shall have found."
Fethi Bey, the President, put mu proposal to the vote, and it was accepted.
Gentlemen, I used this hour of delay to convene in my room the persons who were in question, showed them the minutes of the draft of the law prepared in the night of the 28th to the 29th October, and came to an understanding with them.
At 1.30 in the afternoon the party held another general meeting again under the Presidency of Fethi Bey. I was the first to speak, and ascending the platform I gave the following declarations:
"Dear Friends, I believe that all our colleagues are clear as to the reasons which have led to this difficult question which you have to solve. The fault, the mistake, lies in the system, and in the adopted form. It is a fact that each one of us finds himself obliged to participate in the election of the Cabinet and the Ministers every time we undertake to form a Cabinet according to our Constitutional Law. Your High Assembly having charged me with the solution of this difficulty I have just now settled the form which I have arrived at guided by the conviction I have expressed before. I will submit it to you. If you approve of my proposal it will be possible to form a strong and solid Government. We must elucidate certain points of our Constitutional Law, which determines the form and character of our State and the integral application of which is the aim of all of us. This is my proposal."
Then I left the platform handing over the draft to one of the secretaries to read. As soon as the contents of my motion were made known the discussion about it began.
Sabit Bey (Erzincan) said: " I am supporter of the system of the Cabinet. But it is impossible to settle the present crisi through the proposition of modifying the Constitutional Law. Let us elect for the moment a President of the Cabinet. We shall later on think of this amendment."
Hazım Bey (Niğde) made the following observations: " Can we elaborate a Constitutional Law? I believe not. Even if we would be justified in doing so we could not proceed to do it within the party. Nobody ventures to speak in public meeting when a question has already been discussed in it previously. I can by no means agree that the laws concerning the vital interests of the nation will be finally settled here. The subject must be discussed freely in public meeting. Above all we must solve the crisis."
Yunus Nadi Bey answered Hazım Bey as follows: "In all countries which had for the first time to elaborate a constitutional law a constitutional assembly was formed, whilst it had not been foresseen by us the convene a constitutional assembly in such case. There have at all times been reasons for such amendments. The Grand National Assembly which preceded us has worked to this end. We have a reight to it. There is no time for hesitation on this point. We have left the trouble of solving the Ministerial crisis to His Excellency the President, and he puts before us this motion. All comrades, one after the other, have though of the system which is recommended in this motion. The question now is to formulate it. By the way, such a formulated proposal is already in existence. We must give it greater clearness and a definite character."
Vehbi Bey (Balıkesir) : "Up to the present moment we have not been informed of the Constitutional Law which it is said has been discussed here. It is true that we have read such reports in the newspapers; but is that sufficient? We must therefore first of all solve the Ministerial crisis with the reservation of discussing the proposal later on en bloc."
Halil Bey : "It is our prerogative to elaborate a new Constitutional Law and to alter the existing one. But it depends on the discussions as to whether these alterations are actually of a nature to guarantee the welfare of our country and nation. The lawyers among our friends must enlighten us on this point. As long as this question is not made clear I am not of the opinion that we can solve it at this meeting."
One of the members: "The Constitutional Law cannot be altered by a stroke of the pen."
Hamdullah Suphi (İstanbul): " Four years ago I emphasised the inconveniences of indivudual elections. I repeat the same today. With regard to the motion of the Gazi Pasha, the proposal is not new but contains rather clearer expression of a law which was adopted four years ago. Those who would like to contradict this assertion should explain their views. But time does not permit us to hesitate in long expectation."
Ragıp Bey (Kütahya): "The best laws are those which are made through events and necessities. The necessity has now arrived. We must perfect the Constitutional Law by making it clear. Let us enter immediately into a discussion about the proposal."
Seyit Bey (the deceased Minister of Justice): " The proposed form is nothing new; it only aims at giving more clearness to the law. Necessities and not theories dictate laws. The time and events are stronger than everything. The law of development is an unalterable law. The porposed form does not include any innovation. When we render the already existing form clearer and more explicit we shall surely have acted in a manner that more nearly corresponds to the interests of the country and the nation."
In reply to the observations of Seyit Bey, Abidin Bey (Samsun) proposed first to solve the crisis.
Eyüp Sabri Efendi (Konya) was of the following opinion: "We have elected His Excellency the Gazi as arbitrator. To say that we are deprived of the right to alter the Constitutional Law would be equal to admitting our illegitimacy. It is quite evident that the Assembly is competent for the alteration of this law. It is necessary that the form of our Government should be a Republic. "
Then Ismet Pasha spoke and expressed the following: " It is absolutely necessary to accept the motion of the leader of the party. Everybody knows that we are discussing the form of Government to be adopted. If we do not succeed in coming to the ned of these discussions and formulating the result, we shall perpetuate the crisis and the chaos. Allow me to tell you my experience. The European diplomats have drawn my attention to the following point: "The State has no chief" they said; "n the present form of your Government the President of the Assembly is the chief, which means that you are waiting for another". This is the point of view of Europe, but we ourselves do not see things in this light. The nation is actually mistress of her own destiny; it is soverign. Why do we hesitate to give a legal expression to the real facts? The proposal of electing a Minister of the Council without there being a President of the Republic would undoubtedly be illegal. The motion of His Excellency the Gazi must recive legal force so that the election of the President of the Council can be made legal and possibe. It is absurd to prolong this state of affairs which is causing the general weakness. The Party must act according to the requirements and the responsibilities which they have assumed towards the whole nation."
The declarations made by the unforgettable Abdurrahman Şeref Bey, following Ismet Pasha, ended with the following words:
"It is useless to enumerate all the forms of Government which exist at a moment when you say that the sovereignty belongs to the nation without reserve or restriction. With whomsoever you speak he will answer you that this signifies the Republic. That is the real name of the new creation. What does it matter if this name displeases some of you?"
Yusuf Kemal Bey who followed him on the platform gave a long explanation of the necessity of bringing the motion immediately to the vote and proposed to endow it with the legal formalities.
In spite of the objection raised by Abdullah Azmi Efendi, who said that the queston being evidently imortant the discussion must be continued, the latter was regarded as being sufficient. The motion was then read and put to the vote, at first with regard to the whole of it, and afterwards article by article.
The sitting of the party was closed and the meeting of the Assembly immediately opened. It was six o'clock in the evening. Whilst the Commission of the Constitutional Law carefully examined the motion and prepared their report, the Assembly deliberated on certain other questions.
At last Ismet Pasha, the Vice-President, who presided declared: "The Commission of the Constitutional Law urgently proposes to discuss the motion for the amendment of this law."
Shouts of approbation were heard; the report was read and put forward for discussion. Finally the law was accepted after speeches by different deputies who were greeted with shouts of "Long Live the Republic!"
Thereupon the election ofthe President was put to the vote. Ismet Pasha announced the result in the following words:
"One hundred and fifty-eight Deputies have participated in the election of the President of the Republic. By 158 votes they have unanimously elected His Excellency the Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha, Deputy for Ankara, President."
Gentlemen, you must have read in the protocols the declarations which I then made before the Assembly. I shall however, repeat them here to recall to your memory this historic event. They were as follows:
"Honourable Friends, following the vote of the draft of the law submitted to vour approbation by the competent commission for the purpose of making more clear certain articles of the Constitutional Law - a valuable document which actually confirms the awakening of our nation in view of extraordianry events of world-moving importance - the character of the Turkish State, which is already known and ought to be known to the whole world, shall be defined under a denomination to be universally spread. As a natural consequence of this event you entrust to me, under the title of President of the Republic, the same task which had already been imposed upon me in my capacity as President of the Assembly.
On this occasion also you give me a new proof of the sincere affection and confidence which you have hitherto shown to me, and you manifest thereby the fact that you known to appreciate highly the services rendered by me. With the deepest sincerity of my soul I express to you my cordial thanks for this sign of your affection.
For several centruies the oppressed Naton of the Orient, the innocent Turkish Nation, was considered as being without any of the inborn qualitis which distinguish it. The capacity, the aptitude and the intelligence which our people have shown during these last years distinctly prove that those who judging rightly. Thanks to the new title of their Government our nation will better succeed in manifestinf before the eyes of the nation will better succeed in manifesting befoe the eyes of the civilised world the qualities and merits with which they are endowed. The Trukish Republic will know how to demonstrate by deeds that they are worthy of the position they occupy among the nations.
Friends, the victory which the Turkish Nation, creator of this High Assembly, has been able to gain in the course of these last four years will also in future bear multifold results. So that I may prove worthy of the confidence which I have just received, I think it necessary to emphasise one point which I regard as being very essential and which constitutes for me a great need.
This need consists in the fact of perpetuating the confidence, the kindly feeling and the support of your Assembly towards me. It is only thereby that, with the help of God, I shall succeed in fulfilling the task with which you have entrusted me as well as that which you shall entrust me with in future.
I shall work constantly and sincerelt hand in hand with my friends without for a single moment believing that I could dispense with their personal help. Supported by the love of the nation we shal march forward together. The Turkish Republic will be happy, prosperous and victorious."
The resolution containing the proclamation of the Republic had been carried in the Assembly on the evening of the 29th October 1923, at 8.30. Fifteen minutes later, that is to say, at 8.45, its President was elected. The event was brought to the knowledge of the whole country the same night and was announced after midnight everywhere by a salute of 101 guns. As is known the first Cabinet ws formed by Ismet Pasha and Fethi Bey was elected President of the Assembly.
Gentlemen, the proclamation of the Republic was enthusiastically receved by the nation. This enthusiasm was manifested everywhere by brilliant demonstrations....
Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK
1927, SPEECH (NUTUK)
"If the country is at stake, the rest is detail."...
