From the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic: key dates

ISTANBUL: The Republic of Turkey, founded on October 29, 1923, which celebrates its centenary Sunday, was born out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire and vision of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who became its first president.

Here are the key dates of its transition.

1918: Dismantling the Empire

Allied with the losers of the First World War — Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria — the Ottoman Empire which stretched from the Balkans to present-day Yemen was dismantled by the victors: Italy, France and the United Kingdom.

They share out the former Empire’s provinces, except Istanbul, and give themselves “zones of influence”.

1919: Nationalist movement

A growing nationalist movement is led by the young General Mustafa Kemal, who had distinguished himself against the Allies in the Dardanelles Strait.

He launches a war of independence against the occupiers.

1920: Treaty of Sevres

The Treaty defines the borders of Turkey, contested by nationalists who wanted to recover part of the lost territories, including Thrace and west of the Aegean ceded to Greece.

1922: End of the Sultanate

On November 1, 1922: the sultanate, installed at the end of the Empire, is abolished.

1923: Treaty of Lausanne

The Treaty is signed On July 24, 1923 by the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan, Greece and Yugoslavia, and nullifies the Treaty of Sevres and redefines the borders of Turkey.

It also renounces the creation of Turkish Kurdistan.

October 29, 1923: Republic proclaimed

The Republic of Turkey is officially proclaimed, and Mustafa Kemal is elected president.

In 1934, the Turkish Assembly grants him the name “Ataturk”, meaning the “father of the Turks.”