Atatürk's Reforms
Atatürk’s Reforms (Turkish: Atatürk Devrimleri or Atatürk İnkılapları) are a series of political, legal, cultural, social and economic reforms following the Turkish War of Independence in the wake of World War I, by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and the first president of the Republic of Turkey. The reforms, initiated between 1922 and 1938, were accomplished hand-in-hand with the foundation of the new Turkish state, following the continuous decline and losses of the Ottoman Empire up to the Balkan Wars (1912 - 1913) and finally its collapse after World War I. The main motive behind the reforms was termed "to raise Turkey up to and above the level of modern civilization". Although commonly referred to as a reform movement in English, these might more accurately be termed as the steps of a revolutionary movement (as is the meaning of Atatürk Devrimleri in Turkish), given their distinctly fundamental nature. The accomplished reforms can be grouped under five categories:
Contents |
Political reforms
- Abolition of the office of the Ottoman Sultan ruling since 1218, sending the last members of the House of Osman out of the country, and therefore giving the Turkish nation the right to exercise popular sovereignty via representative democracy (November 1, 1922)
- Proclamation of the new Turkish state as a republic - Republic of Turkey (October 29, 1923)
- Abolition of the office of caliphate held by the Ottomans since 1517 (March 3, 1924)
Social reforms
- Recognition of equality between the sexes (1926 - 1934)
- Reform of headgear and dress (November 25, 1925)
- Closure of sectarian convents and dervish lodges (November 30, 1925)
- Law on family names (June 21, 1934)
- Abolition of titles and by-names (November 26, 1934)
- Adoption of international calendar, hours and measurements (1925 - 1931)
Legal reforms
- Granting of first partial (1930), then full political rights (right to vote and be elected to parliament) to women (December 5, 1934), well before several other European nations. See Timeline of women's suffrage for more information.
- Closure of Islamic courts and the abolition of Islamic canon law (1924 - 1937)
- Transfer to a secular law structure by adoption from Swiss Civil Code and other laws (1924 - 1937)
- Introduction of the new penal law modeled after Italian Penal Code (March 1, 1926)
- Complete separation of government and religious affairs and the inclusion of the principle of laïcité in the constitution (February 5, 1937)
Educational and cultural reforms
- Abolishing of religious education system and the introduction of a national education system as the uniform standard (Unification of education) (March 3, 1924)
- Adoption of the new Turkish alphabet, derived from the Latin Alphabet (November 1, 1928)
- Establishment of Turkish Language Association [1] and Turkish Historical Society for research on Turkish language and history (1931 - 1932)
- Regulation of the university education (May 31, 1933)
- Innovations in fine arts
Economic reforms
- Establishment of industrial facilities, and putting into effect a law for incentives for the industry
- Abolition of capitulations of the Ottoman Empire in effect since the 15th century
- Putting into effect First and Second Development Plans (1933-1937) for the development of public transportation networks
- Introduction of modern agricultural techniques and establishment of model farms
- Abolition of tithes
See also
Categories
History of Turkey | Mustafa Kemal Atatürk | Revolutions