The Constitution of 1921 ( Ottoman Turkish: ''Teşkilât-ı Esasiye Kanunu''; tr, 1921 Türk Anayasası) was the fundamental law of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

for a brief period from 1921 to 1924. The first constitution of the modern Turkish state, it was ratified by the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Const ...

in January 1921. It was a simple document consisting of only 23 short articles. In October 1923 the constitution was amended to declare Turkey to be a republic. In April the following year the constitution was replaced by an entirely new document, the Constitution of 1924.

Background

It was prepared by the Grand National Assembly that was elected both as a Constitutional Convention and as an acting

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

on April 23, 1920, following the de facto collapse of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in the aftermath of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who would later become the first president of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, was the major driving force behind the preparation of a Constitution that derived its

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

from the nation and not from the Sultan, the absolute

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...

of the Ottoman Empire. The National Assembly convened with the purpose of writing a would prepare the ground for the proclamation of a Republic and consecrate the principle of

national sovereignty Westphalian sovereignty, or state sovereignty, is a principle in international law that each state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory. The principle underlies the modern international system of sovereign states and is enshrined in the Un ...

. This Constitution would also serve as the legal basis for the

Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

during 1919-1923, since it would refute the principles of the

Treaty of Sèvres The Treaty of Sèvres (french: Traité de Sèvres) was a 1920 treaty signed between the Allies of World War I and the Ottoman Empire. The treaty ceded large parts of Ottoman territory to France, the United Kingdom, Greece and Italy, as well ...

of 1918 signed by the Ottoman Empire, by which a great majority of the Empire's territory would have to be ceded to the

Entente powers The Triple Entente (from French '' entente'' meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well a ...

that had won the First World War.

Overview

The National Assembly commenced the debates for a new constitution on November 19, 1920 and it was ratified during the session of January 20, 1921. It was the first Turkish Constitution that consecrated the principle of national sovereignty. It was a relatively short text consisting of twenty-three articles, the first nine articles laying out the principles upon which the state would be founded. It delegated the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

and

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

prerogatives to "the only true delegate of the sovereignty of the Nation", the National Assembly that was to be elected by direct popular vote. After the proclamation of the Republic on October 29, 1923, the executive powers were to be exercised by the President and the Council of Ministers on behalf of the National Assembly. Because of the larger geopolitical conjecture of the time and the lack of a formal declaration of a republic, it failed to mention anything about the role the Sultan might play under this new constitution. From a technical point of view, it could be argued that it left open the possibility that the Sultanate might not be abolished and that it could have been amended to make way for a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

, similar to one founded by the French Constitution of 1791. On hindsight, however, it is clear that this omission was on purpose awaiting the outcome of the Independence War and the cessation of hostilities before the proclamation of the Republic. It also didn't include any references to the judicial system for similar reasons, nor did it define the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

Timeline

After having come into force on January 20, 1921, it stayed as the law of the land for three years until the adoption of the Constitution of 1924. During this time it witnessed many extremely important and fundamental events in the history of the Republic of Turkey: *The

was won by the Turkish forces *The Ottoman Sultanate and all aristocratic titles were abolished on November 1, 1922 *The Treaty of Lausanne that led to the international recognition of the new Republic was signed between Turkey and the

that had won the First World War on July 24, 1923 *The Republic was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923 with Atatürk as its first President *The title of the

Caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

that was held by the

Ottoman Sultans The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its hei ...

since 1517 was abolished on March 3, 1924, along with all the remaining vestiges of

Islamic Law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

. (Its powers within Turkey were transferred to the National Assembly and the title has since been inactive. Though very unlikely, the Turkish Republic still retains the right to reinstate the Caliphate.) *Per the law of March 3, 1924, the last Ottoman Sultan, the last

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

and all members of their imperial families had their citizenships revoked, were exiled forever from the new Republic and their descendants banned from ever setting foot in its territory. The same law also nationalized all the properties of the Imperial Crown without compensation.

Text (as enacted)

The text of the first nine articles may be translated as follows:Unauthorized translation, November 2003
/ref> Article 10 is headed ''Administration''. Articles 11 to 21 concern local government units. These subdivisions are called '' Vilâyet'' (Art. 11-14), ''

Kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

'' (Art. 15) and '' Nahiye'' (Art. 16-21). Articles 22 to 23 provide for the General Inspectorate (''Umumi Müfettişlik''). There is also a final provisional article, which is unnumbered.

References

External links

Extracts from the Constitution of 1921
(English)

(Turkish)
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
{{Constitution of Turkey Constitutions of Turkey Defunct constitutions

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

1921 documents