A new assembly at Ankara

Ottoman parliamentary experience began with a bicameral legislature in 1877 and resumed after the constitutional restoration of 1908. Following the occupation of Istanbul in 1920, Kemal called new elections and invited former Ottoman deputies to join an assembly in Ankara.

The new body opened on 23 April 1920, combining elected provincial representatives with former deputies. Şerif Bey presided at its opening and Kemal became speaker the following day. Its first Ulus building, used until 1924, later became the Independence War Museum.

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From assembly government to republic

During the independence war the assembly organized government and military mobilization. The 1921 constitution placed national sovereignty at its centre and united legislative and executive authority in the assembly.

In 1923 it approved the Lausanne treaty and proclaimed the republic. The 1924 constitution developed a system of government responsible to parliament. These constitutional acts changed how the assembly exercised authority.

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Changes in parliamentary structure

The 1960 military coup dissolved parliament. A bicameral legislature followed under the 1961 constitution, while the 1980 coup brought another interruption and the 1982 constitution returned to a single chamber.

Constitutional amendments approved in 2017 introduced a presidential system, implemented after the 2018 elections. Accounts of the assembly's relationship to the executive therefore depend on the constitutional period being described.

References: [1]