Committee of Representation () was the executive branch of Turkish nationalists before the opening of Turkish Grand Assembly in the 1919–1920 period.

Background

After the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

was defeated in the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Turkish nationalists met in

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

and decided to struggle for the freedom of Turkey. Although the resulting Sivas Congress ended on 11 September 1919, a committee was established as the executive branch of the congress.

The members of the committee

The number of the representatives in the committee was 16. (Actually 9 members were already chosen in the earlier

Erzurum Congress Erzurum Congress () was an assembly of Turkish Revolutionaries held from 23 July to 4 August 1919 in the city of Erzurum, in eastern Turkey, in accordance with the previously issued Amasya Circular. The congress united delegates from six easter ...

.) Some of the committee members were; *

Mustafa Kemal Pasha Mustafa () is one of the names of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic language, Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in t ...

(Atatürk) * Rauf Bey (Orbay) * Bekir Sami Bey (Kunduh) * Refet Bey (Bele) * Kara Vâsıf Bey (Karakol) * Mazhar Müfit bey (Kansu) However some of the other members were indifferent to committee and the committee never met with the total number of representatives. Later (1927) Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in his

Nutuk ''Nutuk'' (, known as ''A Speech'' or ''The Speech'' in English) was a speech delivered by Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 15 to 20 October 1927, at the second congress of Republican People's Party. The speech covered the events between the start of ...

(Great speech) complained of the indifference of some of the committee members.

During the committee rule

Following an unsuccessful plot to arrest Mustafa Kemal by a governor (Ali Galip) of the Ottoman government, the committee banned all communication between

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

n cities and

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. The Ottoman prime minister Damat Ferit Pasha resigned. Although a new Ottoman government (Ali Rıza Pasha's government) was formed in Istanbul, the committee continued to serve as an alternative government in Sivas. On 27 December 1919 the committee members moved to

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

. The sultan Mehmet VI decided to reopen the

General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire The General Assembly (; French romanization: "Medjliss Oumoumi" or ''Genel Parlamento''; ) was the first attempt at representative democracy by the imperial government of the Ottoman Empire. Also known as the Ottoman Parliament ('' Legislation o ...

in Istanbul after the elections held in 1919 December. The committee supported this decision and in fact some members of the committee (such as Rauf Bey and Kara Vasıf Bey) attended the parliament. The parliament met on 12 January 1920. However, on 18 March 1920, the

British forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping ef ...

in Istanbul occupied the city and closed the parliament. The committee members as well as other sympathizers to the Turkish National Struggle were arrested and were sent exile to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

.Sina Akşin: ''Türkiye Tarihi Cilt IV'', {{ISBN, 978-975-406-5664, pp.86–89 Occupation of Istanbul gave the committee the chance to open the parliament in Ankara. On 23 April 1920 Turkish Grand Assembly was opened in Ankara.

Aftermath

After the opening of the Turkish parliament

1st cabinet of the Executive Ministers of Turkey The 1st cabinet of executive ministers of Turkey (3 May 1920 – 24 January 1921) was the first government formed by the nationalists during the Turkish War of Independence. The Republic was not yet proclaimed and the government was called ' or ' ...

(government) was formed instead of the committee.

Gallery

Marshal Mustafa Kemal Pasha.jpg, Mustafa Kemal Pasha Hüseyin Rauf Orbay.jpg, Rauf Bey Ibrahim Refet Bele Pasha.jpg, Refet Bey Kara Vasif.jpg, Kara Vasıf Bey Bekir Sami Bey Kunduh.jpg, Bekir Sami Bey Ahmet Mazhar Bey.jpg, Mazhar Müfit Bey

References

Government agencies established in 1919 1920 disestablishments in the Ottoman Empire Political organizations based in Turkey Politics of the Turkish War of Independence 1919 establishments in the Ottoman Empire