Journal of Strategic and Social Researches

Abstract

Absract: In order to meet the needs of the army and to lead the war, the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) adopted the “Law of the Commander-in-Chief” on 5 August 1921. With this law, the TGNA gave some of its powers to Mustafa Kemal Pasha for a period of three months. Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who published the "Tekalif-i Milliye Emirleri: National obligation orders " based on this authority, prepared the army for war. In this way, the Battle of Sakarya was won and the Greek attack was repelled. With the effect of this victory, the first two extensions of the Commander-in-Chief Law were accepted without any discussion in the TGNA. However, as a result of the grouping in the TGNA, the issue of extending the term of the Commander-in-Chief for the third time caused long discussions in the Assembly. In the voting held on 4-6 May 1922, the extension of the deadline was accepted with difficulty. The issue of the fourth extension of the period was brought to the agenda at the meeting of the Assembly on 20 July 1922. Mustafa Kemal Pasha stated that the army was in good condition and stated that there was no need for the extraordinary authorizations given to the Commander-in-Chief. In the negotiations, it was accepted that the TGNA would assign Mustafa Kemal Pasha as the Commander-in-Chief, with a "temporary" condition and without specifying the time period. The War of Independence ended with the victory of the administration of the Commander-in-Chief. In the article, the reasons for the adoption of the Law on the Commander-in-Chief, the adoption of the law and the subsequent time extension will be discussed in detail. TGNA Parliamentary Minutes, TGNA Secret Session Minutes, archive documents, memoirs and other research works will be used. The research is based on a descriptive survey model. In this study, document analysis method was used.