The Progressive Republican Party () was a political party in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

between 1924 and 1925.Myron E. Weiner, Ergun Özbudun (1987) ''Competitive Elections in Developing Countries'', Duke University Press, p337 It was established by Ali Fuat (Cebesoy) Pasha,

Kâzım Karabekir Musa Kâzım Karabekir (also Kazim or Kiazim in English; 1882 – 26 January 1948) was a Turkish people, Turkish general and politician. He was the commander of the Eastern Front (Turkey), Eastern Army of the Ottoman Empire during the Turkish Wa ...

, Refet (Bele) Pasha, Rauf (Orbay) Bey and Adnan (Adıvar) Bey on 17 November 1924. The party was banned on 5 June 1925 after the Sheikh Said rebellion.

Background

Nearly one year before Greece and Turkey signed the

Treaty of Lausanne The Treaty of Lausanne (, ) is a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–1923 and signed in the Palais de Rumine in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially resolved the conflict that had initially ...

in the summer of 1924, the Ottoman sultanate was abolished and the Turkish state was formally declared a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

, marking the end of six centuries of imperial rule. After the

peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...

was signed,

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 ...

was relinquished to the ruling Turkish nationalists as the occupying armies withdrew at the close of the

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

. However, the domestic political conflict was not yet resolved and some established members of the

Turkish National Movement The Turkish National Movement (), also known as the Anatolian Movement (), the Nationalist Movement (), and the Kemalists (, ''Kemalciler'' or ''Kemalistler''), included political and military activities of the Turkish revolutionaries that resu ...

including Ali Fuat Cebesoy, Kâzım Karabekir, Adnan Adıvar and Rauf Orbay were increasingly anxious that they would be targeted by

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

, who had already forbidden the re-establishment of the

Committee of Union and Progress The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...

(CUP) and abolished the Caliphate. In November 1924, a few months after the abolition of the Caliphate, members of the former CUP and National Movement joined to form the Progressive Republican Party in opposition to what they considered the

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

rule of Mustafa Kemal and the ruling

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...

(CHP).

Party leaders

The parties leaders consisted of the retired General

who became its president, Adıvar and Orbay as his deputy presidents and several former members of the Committee for Union and Progress (CUP) such as Rüştü Pasha, Bekir Sami Kunduh, and as members of the Central Administrative Committee.

Policies

On domestic policy, the party supported liberalism generally, but was blamed by the government for being the vehicle of radicals in attempting subvert the newly established government. After Mustafa Kemal blamed Karabekir for the Sheikh Said Rebellion and the assassination attempt made on himself in

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

, the party was closed on 5 June by the government. As a consequence, Karabekir and many members of the party were court-martialed by the Independence Tribunal and imprisoned, although they were later released. However, he was kept under house arrest along with 82 members of the opposition for two decades. During the presidency of

İsmet İnönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü (24 September 1884 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish politician and military officer who served as the second List of Presidents of Turkey, president of Turkey from 1938 to 1950, and as its Prime Minister of Turkey, pr ...

, he was rehabilitated and chosen as a member of Parliament and was elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

Political parties established in 1924 Defunct political parties in Turkey 1924 establishments in Turkey 1925 disestablishments in Turkey Political parties disestablished in 1925 2nd parliament of Turkey {{Turkey-party-stub

Background

Party leaders

Policies

See also

References