Ismet Inönü
Encyclopedia
Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army
General
, Prime Minister
and the second President of Turkey
. In 1938, the Republican People's Party
gave him the title of "Milli Şef" (National Chief).
) to Reshid (Hacı Reşit Bey) and Djevriye (Cevrye Temelli Hanım). He was of Kurdish
descent. Reshid was retired from the First Examinant Department of Legal Affairs Bureau of the War Ministry (Harbiye Nezareti Muhakemat Dairesi Birinci Mümeyyizliği), who was born in Malatya
and a member of Kümüroğulları family of Bitlis
. Djevriye was a daughter of Müderris (professor) Hasan Efendi who was ulema
and a member of Turkish
family of Razgrad
. Due to his father's assignments, the family moved from one city to another. Thus, Ismet completed his primary education in Sivas and graduated Sivas Military Junior High School (Sivas Askerî Rüştiyesi) in 1894. And then he studied at Sivas School for Civil Servants (Sivas Mülkiye İdadisi) for a year.
When the 1934 Surname Law
was adopted, Mustafa Kemal gave him a surname delivered from İnönü, where he commanded the forces of Army of Grand National Assembly
as the Minister of the Chief of the General Staff (Erkân-ı Harbiye-i Umumiye Reis Vekili) during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922. Afterwards these battles became to be known as the First Battle of İnönü
and Second Battle of İnönü
.
On April 13, 1916, Ismet married Mevhibe
, who was a daughter of an Ashraf
(Eşraf) of Ziştovi (present day Svishtov
) Zühtü Efendi. They had three children: Ömer, Erdal
and Özden (Toker).
. He won his first military victories by suppressing two major revolts against the struggling Ottoman Empire
, first in Rumelia
and later in Yemen
, whose leader was Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din
. He served as a military officer during the Balkan Wars
on the Ottoman-Bulgarian front. During World War I
, he served with the Ottoman military rank of Miralay
(arbitrarily the equivalent of Colonel
or Senior Colonel
(Brigadier
)) and worked under Mustafa Kemal Pasha during his assignments at the Caucasus and Palestine
fronts.
After losing the Battle of Megiddo
against General Edmund Allenby during the last days of World War I, he went to Constantinople (Istanbul) and assigned Undersecretary of the Ministry of War and then General Secretary of the Documentation in the Military Council.
After the military occupation of Constantinople on March 16, 1920, he decided to pass to Anatolia
for joining the Turkish National Movement
. He and his chief of staff Major Saffet (Arıkan) wore soldier uniform and left Maltepe in the evening of March 19, 1920 and arrived at Ankara on April 9, 1920.
He was appointed the commander of the Western Front of the Army of the Grand Naional Assembly
(GNA), a position in which he remained during the Turkish War of Independence
. He was promoted to the rank of Mirliva
(arbitrarily the equivalent of Brigadier General
or Major General
; the most junior General rank with the title Pasha
in the Ottoman and pre-1934 Turkish Army) after winning the First Battle of İnönü
which took place between 9 and 11 January 1921. He also won the subsequent Second Battle of İnönü
which was fought between 26 and 31 March 1921. During the Turkish War of Independence he was also a member of the GNA in Ankara
.
İnönü was replaced by Mustafa Fevzi Pasha, who was also the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense at the time, as the Chief of Staff of the Army of the GNA after the Turkish forces lost major battles against the advancing Greek Army in July 1921, as a result of which the cities Afyonkarahisar
, Kütahya
and Eskişehir
were temporarily lost. He participated as a staff officer (with the rank Brigadier General) to the later battles, until the final Turkish victory in September 1922.
and for the Treaty of Lausanne
.
He became famous for his resolve and stubbornness in defending Turkey's demands while conceding very little to the other side at the negotiating table, causing the peace conference to last longer than expected. Partially deaf, İnönü simply turned off his hearing aid when the British foreign secretary, Lord Curzon, launched into lengthy speeches opposing Turkish demands for recognition of the national pact, and then would restate the Turkish position as if the British foreign secretary had not said a thing.
had put in place. He acted after every major crisis (such as the rebellion of Sheikh Said
or the attempted assassination in Izmir against Mustafa Kemal) to restore peace in the country.
with heavy-handed government intervention
, especially after the 1929 economic crisis
, by implementing an economic plan inspired by the Five Year Plan of the Soviet Union
. In doing so, he took much private property under government control. Due to his efforts, to this day, more than 70% of land in Turkey is still owned by the state.
Desiring a more liberal economic system, Atatürk forced İnönü to resign from the Prime Ministry and appointed Celâl Bayar
, the founder of the first Turkish commercial bank Türkiye İş Bankası
, as Prime Minister.
After the death of Atatürk, İnönü was viewed as the most appropriate candidate to succeed him, and was elected the second President of the Republic of Turkey and enjoyed the official title of "Milli Şef", i.e. "National Chief". There are approaches to define the İnönü period (Millî Şef dönemi ) as a dictatorship
.
World War II
broke out in the first year of his presidency, and both the Allies
and the Axis pressured İnönü to bring Turkey into the war on their side. The Germans sent Franz von Papen
to Ankara
while the British sent Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen
and the French René Massigli
. On April 23, 1939, Turkish Foreign Minister Şükrü Saracoğlu
told Knatchbull-Hugessen of his nation's fears of Italian claims of the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum
and German control of the Balkans, and suggested an Anglo-Soviet-Turkish alliance as the best way of countering the Axis. In May 1939, during the visit of Maxime Weygand
to Turkey, İnönü told the French Ambassador René Massigli
that he believed that the best way of stopping Germany was an alliance of Turkey, the Soviet Union, France and Britain; that if such an alliance came into being, the Turks would allow Soviet ground and air forces onto their soil; and that he wanted a major programme of French military aid to modernize the Turkish armed forces. The signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact on August 23, 1939 led Turkey away from the Allies as the Turks always believed that it was essential to have the Soviet Union as an ally to counter Germany, and the signing of the German-Soviet pact undercut completely the assumptions behind Turkish security policy.
Winston Churchill
secretly met with İnönü inside a train wagon near Adana
on January 30, 1943. İnönü later met with Franklin D. Roosevelt
and Winston Churchill at the Second Cairo Conference
on December 4–6, 1943. Until 1941, both Roosevelt and Churchill thought that Turkey's continuing neutrality would serve the interests of the Allies by blocking the Axis from reaching the strategic oil reserves of the Middle East
. But the early victories of the Axis up to the end of 1942 caused Roosevelt and Churchill to re-evaluate a possible Turkish participation in the war on the side of the Allies. Turkey had maintained a decently-sized Army and Air Force throughout the war, and Churchill wanted the Turks to open a new front in the Balkans
. Roosevelt, on the other hand, still believed that a Turkish attack would be too risky, and an eventual Turkish failure would have disastrous effects for the Allies.
İnönü knew very well the hardships which his country had suffered during decades of incessant war between 1908 and 1922 and was determined to keep Turkey out of another war as long as he could. The young Turkish Republic was still re-building, recovering from the losses due to earlier wars, and lacked any modern weapons and the infrastructure to enter a war to be fought along and possibly within its borders. İnönü also wanted assurances on financial and military aid for Turkey, as well as a guarantee that the United States
and the United Kingdom
would stand beside Turkey in the event of a Soviet
invasion of the Turkish Straits
after the war. The fear of Soviet invasion and Joseph Stalin
's unconcealed desire to control the Turkish Straits eventually caused Turkey to give up its principle of neutrality in foreign relations and join NATO in 1952.
In 1950, his party lost the first free elections in republic's history. The Democratic Party used a slogan: "Geldi İsmet, kesildi kısmet" ("Since Ismet came, fortune was cut" ) for their election campaigns. İnönü presided over the peaceful transfer of power to the Democratic Party of Celâl Bayar and Adnan Menderes
. İnönü served for ten years as the leader of the opposition
before returning to power as Prime Minister after the 1961 election, held after the military coup-d'etat in 1960 in which he allegedly conspired.
Although the opposition was imprisoned during the 1961 elections, he still did not win a majority and had to form coalition governments until the 1965 elections. He lost both the 1965 and 1969 general elections to Süleyman Demirel
and then in 1972 he lost his party's leadership race to Bülent Ecevit
.
İsmet İnönü was, by the standards of his time, a highly educated man; speaking Arabic
, English
, French
and German
in addition to his native Turkish.
İnönü died in 1973. He was interred opposite to Atatürk's mausoleum at Anıtkabir
in Ankara
and a massive tomb was constructed there.
İnönü University
in Malatya
is named after him, as is the İnönü Stadium
in Istanbul
, home of the Beşiktaş
soccer club.
Turkish Army
The Turkish Army or Turkish Land Forces is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The modern history of the army began with its formation after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire...
General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
, Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
and the second President of Turkey
President of Turkey
The President of Turkey is the head of state of the Republic of Turkey. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office but has some important functions...
. In 1938, the Republican People's Party
Republican People's Party (Turkey)
The Republican People's Party is a centre-left Kemalist political party in Turkey. It is the oldest political party of Turkey and is currently Main Opposition in the Grand National Assembly. The Republican People's Party describes itself as "a modern social-democratic party, which is faithful to...
gave him the title of "Milli Şef" (National Chief).
Family and early life
He was born in Smyrna (present day İzmirIzmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
) to Reshid (Hacı Reşit Bey) and Djevriye (Cevrye Temelli Hanım). He was of Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
descent. Reshid was retired from the First Examinant Department of Legal Affairs Bureau of the War Ministry (Harbiye Nezareti Muhakemat Dairesi Birinci Mümeyyizliği), who was born in Malatya
Malatya
Malatya ) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of its eponymous province.-Overview:The city site has been occupied for thousands of years. The Assyrians called the city Meliddu. Following Roman expansion into the east, the city was renamed in Latin as Melitene...
and a member of Kümüroğulları family of Bitlis
Bitlis
Bitlis is a town in eastern Turkey and the capital of Bitlis Province. The town is located at an elevation of 1,400 metres, 15 km from Lake Van, in the steep-sided valley of the Bitlis River, a tributary of the Tigris. The local economy is mainly based on agricultural products which include...
. Djevriye was a daughter of Müderris (professor) Hasan Efendi who was ulema
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
and a member of Turkish
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
family of Razgrad
Razgrad
Razgrad is a city in northeastern Bulgaria, administrative and industrial centre of the homonymous Razgrad Province. As of February 2011, it has a population of 33,238 inhabitants.-History:...
. Due to his father's assignments, the family moved from one city to another. Thus, Ismet completed his primary education in Sivas and graduated Sivas Military Junior High School (Sivas Askerî Rüştiyesi) in 1894. And then he studied at Sivas School for Civil Servants (Sivas Mülkiye İdadisi) for a year.
When the 1934 Surname Law
Surname Law (Turkey)
The Surname Law of the Republic of Turkey was adopted on June 21, 1934. The law required all citizens of Turkey to adopt the use of surnames. Turkey's Christian and Jewish citizens were already using surnames, but Muslims generally did not use Western-style surnames...
was adopted, Mustafa Kemal gave him a surname delivered from İnönü, where he commanded the forces of Army of Grand National Assembly
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey , usually referred to simply as the Meclis , is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence...
as the Minister of the Chief of the General Staff (Erkân-ı Harbiye-i Umumiye Reis Vekili) during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922. Afterwards these battles became to be known as the First Battle of İnönü
First Battle of Inönü
The First Battle of İnönü took place between 9 and 11 January 1921 near İnönü in present-day Eskişehir Province, Turkey during the Greco-Turkish War , part of Turkish War of Independence...
and Second Battle of İnönü
Second Battle of Inönü
The Second Battle of İnönü was fought between 26 and 31 March 1921 near İnönü in present-day Eskişehir Province, Turkey during the Greco-Turkish War , part of Turkish War of Independence...
.
On April 13, 1916, Ismet married Mevhibe
Mevhibe İnönü
Mevhibe İnönü was the First Lady of Turkey from November 11, 1938 until May 22, 1950 during the presidency of her husband İsmet İnönü.-Early years:...
, who was a daughter of an Ashraf
Ashraf
Ashraf refers to someone claiming descent from Muhammad by way of his daughter Fatimah. The word is the plural of sharīf "noble", from sharafa "to be highborn"...
(Eşraf) of Ziştovi (present day Svishtov
Svishtov
Svishtov is a town in northern Bulgaria, located in Veliko Tarnovo Province on the right bank of the Danube river opposite the Romanian town of Zimnicea. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Svishtov Municipality...
) Zühtü Efendi. They had three children: Ömer, Erdal
Erdal Inönü
Erdal İnönü was a Turkish physicist and politician. He was the son of Turkey's second president İsmet İnönü...
and Özden (Toker).
Early military career
Ismet graduated from the Imperial School of Military Engineering (Mühendishane-i Berrî-i Hümâyûn) in 1903 as gunnery officer, and received his first military assignment in the Ottoman Army. He joined the Committee of Union and ProgressCommittee of Union and Progress
The Committee of Union and Progress began as a secret society established as the "Committee of Ottoman Union" in 1889 by the medical students İbrahim Temo, Abdullah Cevdet, İshak Sükuti and Ali Hüseyinzade...
. He won his first military victories by suppressing two major revolts against the struggling Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, first in Rumelia
Rumelia
Rumelia was an historical region comprising the territories of the Ottoman Empire in Europe...
and later in Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, whose leader was Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din
Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din
Yahya Muhammad Hamidaddin became Imam of the Zaydis in 1904 and Imam of Yemen in 1918. His name in full was Amir al-Mumenin al-Mutawakkil 'Ala Allah Rab ul-Alamin Imam Yahya bin al-Mansur Bi'llah Muhammad Hamidaddin, Imam and Commander of the Faithful.Yahya Muhammad Hamidaddin was born on Friday...
. He served as a military officer during the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
on the Ottoman-Bulgarian front. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he served with the Ottoman military rank of Miralay
Miralay
Miralay or Mîr-i alay was a military rank of the Ottoman Army and Navy. It corresponds to a Colonel . Miralay is a compound word composed of Mir and Alay...
(arbitrarily the equivalent of Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
or Senior Colonel
Senior Colonel
Senior Colonel is a field grade officer rank placed between a regular Colonel and a Major General. The rank typically exists in militaries that do not maintain a rank of Brigadier General/Brigadier....
(Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
)) and worked under Mustafa Kemal Pasha during his assignments at the Caucasus and Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
fronts.
Turkish War of Independence
Battle of Megiddo (1918)
The Battle of Megiddo took place between 19 September and 1 October 1918, in what was then the northern part of Ottoman Palestine and parts of present-day Syria and Jordan...
against General Edmund Allenby during the last days of World War I, he went to Constantinople (Istanbul) and assigned Undersecretary of the Ministry of War and then General Secretary of the Documentation in the Military Council.
After the military occupation of Constantinople on March 16, 1920, he decided to pass to Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
for joining the Turkish National Movement
Turkish National Movement
The Turkish National Movement encompasses the political and military activities of the Turkish revolutionaries which resulted in the creation and shaping of the Republic of Turkey, as a consequence of the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I....
. He and his chief of staff Major Saffet (Arıkan) wore soldier uniform and left Maltepe in the evening of March 19, 1920 and arrived at Ankara on April 9, 1920.
He was appointed the commander of the Western Front of the Army of the Grand Naional Assembly
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey , usually referred to simply as the Meclis , is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence...
(GNA), a position in which he remained during the Turkish War of Independence
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
. He was promoted to the rank of Mirliva
Mirliva
Mirliva or Mîr-i livâ was a military rank of the Ottoman Army. It corresponds to a Brigadier General or Major General . Mirliva is a compound word composed of Mir and Liva...
(arbitrarily the equivalent of Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
or Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
; the most junior General rank with the title Pasha
Pasha
Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...
in the Ottoman and pre-1934 Turkish Army) after winning the First Battle of İnönü
First Battle of Inönü
The First Battle of İnönü took place between 9 and 11 January 1921 near İnönü in present-day Eskişehir Province, Turkey during the Greco-Turkish War , part of Turkish War of Independence...
which took place between 9 and 11 January 1921. He also won the subsequent Second Battle of İnönü
Second Battle of Inönü
The Second Battle of İnönü was fought between 26 and 31 March 1921 near İnönü in present-day Eskişehir Province, Turkey during the Greco-Turkish War , part of Turkish War of Independence...
which was fought between 26 and 31 March 1921. During the Turkish War of Independence he was also a member of the GNA in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
.
İnönü was replaced by Mustafa Fevzi Pasha, who was also the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense at the time, as the Chief of Staff of the Army of the GNA after the Turkish forces lost major battles against the advancing Greek Army in July 1921, as a result of which the cities Afyonkarahisar
Afyonkarahisar
Afyonkarahisar is a city in western Turkey, the capital of Afyon Province. Afyon is in mountainous countryside inland from the Aegean coast, south-west of Ankara along the Akarçay River. Elevation...
, Kütahya
Kütahya
Kütahya is a city in western Turkey with 212,444 inhabitants , lying on the Porsuk river, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the capital of Kütahya Province, inhabited by some 517 804 people...
and Eskişehir
Eskisehir
Eskişehir is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. According to the 2009 census, the population of the city is 631,905. The city is located on the banks of the Porsuk River, 792 m above sea level, where it overlooks the fertile Phrygian Valley. In the nearby...
were temporarily lost. He participated as a staff officer (with the rank Brigadier General) to the later battles, until the final Turkish victory in September 1922.
Chief negotiator in Mudanya and Lausanne
After the War of Independence was won, İsmet Pasha was appointed as the chief negotiator of the Turkish delegation, both for the Armistice of MudanyaArmistice of Mudanya
The Armistice of Mudanya was an agreement between Turkey on the one hand, and Italy, France and Britain on the other hand, signed in the Ottoman town of Mudanya on 11 October 1922....
and for the Treaty of Lausanne
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...
.
He became famous for his resolve and stubbornness in defending Turkey's demands while conceding very little to the other side at the negotiating table, causing the peace conference to last longer than expected. Partially deaf, İnönü simply turned off his hearing aid when the British foreign secretary, Lord Curzon, launched into lengthy speeches opposing Turkish demands for recognition of the national pact, and then would restate the Turkish position as if the British foreign secretary had not said a thing.
Prime Minister
İnönü later served as the Prime Minister of Turkey for several terms, maintaining the system that Mustafa KemalMustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
had put in place. He acted after every major crisis (such as the rebellion of Sheikh Said
Sheikh Said rebellion
Sheikh Said Rebellion was a rebellion of a Kurdish clergy Sheikh Said and a group of former Kurdish Hamidieh soldiers in 1925.-Background:The Azadî was dominated by officers from the former Hamidiye, a Kurdish tribal militia established...
or the attempted assassination in Izmir against Mustafa Kemal) to restore peace in the country.
Statism in economy
He tried to manage the economyEconomy of Turkey
The economy of Turkey is defined as an emerging market economy by the IMF and is largely developed, making Turkey one of the world's newly industrialized countries. The country is among the world's leading producers of agricultural products; textiles; motor vehicles, ships and other transportation...
with heavy-handed government intervention
Statism
Statism is a term usually describing a political philosophy, whether of the right or the left, that emphasises the role of the state in politics or supports the use of the state to achieve economic, military or social goals...
, especially after the 1929 economic crisis
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, by implementing an economic plan inspired by the Five Year Plan of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. In doing so, he took much private property under government control. Due to his efforts, to this day, more than 70% of land in Turkey is still owned by the state.
Desiring a more liberal economic system, Atatürk forced İnönü to resign from the Prime Ministry and appointed Celâl Bayar
Celal Bayar
Celâl Bayar was a Turkish politician, statesman and the third President of Turkey. At the time of his death, he was the longest lived former head of state, living over 103 years .-Early years:He was born in 1883 at Umurbey, a village of Gemlik, Bursa as the son of a religious leader and teacher...
, the founder of the first Turkish commercial bank Türkiye İş Bankası
Türkiye Is Bankasi
Türkiye İş Bankası is Turkey's first public bank and premiere national financial institution, ranked 102nd in the “Top 1000 World Banks” survey of Financial Times' The Banker and 371st in the Forbes Global 2000 lists as of 2008, with a Gross Profit for the Year 2006 TRY 2,540 million and USD 6.8...
, as Prime Minister.
President
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
.
World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out in the first year of his presidency, and both the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
and the Axis pressured İnönü to bring Turkey into the war on their side. The Germans sent Franz von Papen
Franz von Papen
Lieutenant-Colonel Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen zu Köningen was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933–1934...
to Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
while the British sent Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen
Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen
Sir Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull-Hugessen KCMG was a British diplomat, civil servant and author.-Background and education:...
and the French René Massigli
René Massigli
René Massigli was a French diplomat who played a leading as a senior official at the Quai d'Orsay, and was regarded as one of the leading French experts on Germany.-Early career:...
. On April 23, 1939, Turkish Foreign Minister Şükrü Saracoğlu
Sükrü Saracoglu
Mehmet Şükrü Saracoğlu was a Turkish politician and the sixth Prime Minister of Republic of Turkey. He was also the chairman of Fenerbahçe S.K. for 16 years between 1934-1950, including his time as prime minister as well.-Biography:...
told Knatchbull-Hugessen of his nation's fears of Italian claims of the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum
Mare Nostrum
Mare Nostrum may refer to:*Mare Nostrum, the Roman term for the Mediterranean Sea, adopted by Italian nationalists and fascists.*Mare Nostrum , a Spanish-language novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez...
and German control of the Balkans, and suggested an Anglo-Soviet-Turkish alliance as the best way of countering the Axis. In May 1939, during the visit of Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand was a French military commander in World War I and World War II.Weygand initially fought against the Germans during the invasion of France in 1940, but then surrendered to and collaborated with the Germans as part of the Vichy France regime.-Early years:Weygand was born in Brussels...
to Turkey, İnönü told the French Ambassador René Massigli
René Massigli
René Massigli was a French diplomat who played a leading as a senior official at the Quai d'Orsay, and was regarded as one of the leading French experts on Germany.-Early career:...
that he believed that the best way of stopping Germany was an alliance of Turkey, the Soviet Union, France and Britain; that if such an alliance came into being, the Turks would allow Soviet ground and air forces onto their soil; and that he wanted a major programme of French military aid to modernize the Turkish armed forces. The signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact on August 23, 1939 led Turkey away from the Allies as the Turks always believed that it was essential to have the Soviet Union as an ally to counter Germany, and the signing of the German-Soviet pact undercut completely the assumptions behind Turkish security policy.
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
secretly met with İnönü inside a train wagon near Adana
Adana
Adana is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean, in south-central Anatolia...
on January 30, 1943. İnönü later met with Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
and Winston Churchill at the Second Cairo Conference
Second Cairo Conference
The Second Cairo Conference of December 4–6, 1943, held in Cairo, Egypt, addressed Turkey's possible contribution to the Allies in World War II...
on December 4–6, 1943. Until 1941, both Roosevelt and Churchill thought that Turkey's continuing neutrality would serve the interests of the Allies by blocking the Axis from reaching the strategic oil reserves of the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. But the early victories of the Axis up to the end of 1942 caused Roosevelt and Churchill to re-evaluate a possible Turkish participation in the war on the side of the Allies. Turkey had maintained a decently-sized Army and Air Force throughout the war, and Churchill wanted the Turks to open a new front in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. Roosevelt, on the other hand, still believed that a Turkish attack would be too risky, and an eventual Turkish failure would have disastrous effects for the Allies.
İnönü knew very well the hardships which his country had suffered during decades of incessant war between 1908 and 1922 and was determined to keep Turkey out of another war as long as he could. The young Turkish Republic was still re-building, recovering from the losses due to earlier wars, and lacked any modern weapons and the infrastructure to enter a war to be fought along and possibly within its borders. İnönü also wanted assurances on financial and military aid for Turkey, as well as a guarantee that the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
would stand beside Turkey in the event of a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
invasion of the Turkish Straits
Turkish Straits
The term Turkish Straits refers to the two narrow straits in northwestern Turkey, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, that connect the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea on one side and the Aegean arm of the Mediterranean Sea on the other. They are conventionally considered the boundary between the...
after the war. The fear of Soviet invasion and Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's unconcealed desire to control the Turkish Straits eventually caused Turkey to give up its principle of neutrality in foreign relations and join NATO in 1952.
Multi-party period
Under international pressure to transform the country to a democratic state, İnönü presided over the infamous 1946 elections, in which votes were cast in the open with onlookers (most probably secret police) able to observe to which party the voters had cast their votes and ballots were tallied behind closed doors by only his own party's officials.In 1950, his party lost the first free elections in republic's history. The Democratic Party used a slogan: "Geldi İsmet, kesildi kısmet" ("Since Ismet came, fortune was cut" ) for their election campaigns. İnönü presided over the peaceful transfer of power to the Democratic Party of Celâl Bayar and Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes was the first democratically elected Turkish Prime Minister between 1950–1960. He was one of the founders of the Democratic Party in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He was hanged by the military junta after the 1960 coup d'état, along with two other cabinet...
. İnönü served for ten years as the leader of the opposition
Opposition (parliamentary)
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state...
before returning to power as Prime Minister after the 1961 election, held after the military coup-d'etat in 1960 in which he allegedly conspired.
Although the opposition was imprisoned during the 1961 elections, he still did not win a majority and had to form coalition governments until the 1965 elections. He lost both the 1965 and 1969 general elections to Süleyman Demirel
Süleyman Demirel
Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel, better known as Süleyman Demirel , is a Turkish politician who served as Prime Minister seven times and was the ninth President of Turkey.-Life:Demirel was born in İslamköy, a town in Isparta Province...
and then in 1972 he lost his party's leadership race to Bülent Ecevit
Bülent Ecevit
Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :...
.
İsmet İnönü was, by the standards of his time, a highly educated man; speaking Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
in addition to his native Turkish.
İnönü died in 1973. He was interred opposite to Atatürk's mausoleum at Anıtkabir
Anitkabir
Anıtkabir is the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish War of Independence and the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey...
in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
and a massive tomb was constructed there.
Legacy
Inönü University
İnönü University is a university in Malatya, Turkey, founded in 28 February 1975.it is one of the biggest university of eastern part of Turkey.-External links:*...
in Malatya
Malatya
Malatya ) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of its eponymous province.-Overview:The city site has been occupied for thousands of years. The Assyrians called the city Meliddu. Following Roman expansion into the east, the city was renamed in Latin as Melitene...
is named after him, as is the İnönü Stadium
BJK Inonu Stadium
Fiyapı İnönü Stadium is a football stadium in Istanbul, Turkey and is the home ground of the football club Beşiktaş J.K.. Previously the ground has aso been shared with Galatasaray S.K. and Fenerbahce S.K.. The ground is located in Dolmabahçe, close to the Dolmabahçe Palace in the district of...
in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, home of the Beşiktaş
Besiktas J.K.
Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü , or simply Beşiktaş , is a Turkish sports club. The club's football team is one of the major teams in Turkey. The professional sports club, founded in 1903, is based in the Beşiktaş district in Istanbul, Turkey...
soccer club.
See also
- Pembe KöşkPembe KöşkPembe Köşk is an Ottoman orchard house in the Çankaya district of Ankara, Turkey, which is the city’s oldest villa and was the home of Turkish President İsmet İnönü from 1925 to 1973....
- Private home from 1925 to 1973 - Çankaya KöşküÇankaya KösküÇankaya Köşkü or Çankaya Köşk is the official residence of the President of Turkey. It is located in the Çankaya district of Ankara, which lends its name to the palace. The name is sometimes used as a metonymy for the current president. The Çankaya Presidential Compound stretches over of land...
- The Presidency of the Republic of Turkey - List of high-ranking commanders of the Turkish War of Independence