“Gentlemen, I don’t think it is necessary any further to compare the principles underlying the Lausanne Peace Treaty with other proposals for peace. This treaty, is a document declaring that all efforts, prepared over centuries, and thought to have been accomplished through the Sevres Treaty to crush the Turkish nation have been in vain. It is a diplomatic victory unheard of in the Ottoman history!”
M. Kemal Atatürk, The Great Speech, 1927
Today marks the 102nd anniversary of the Lausanne Peace Treaty—a landmark agreement through which Türkiye regained its political and economic sovereignty after one of the most turbulent periods in its history. Following the catastrophic decline of the Ottoman Empire, the imposition of the unjust Treaty of Sèvres, and the immense hardships of the War of Independence, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the Turkish nation saw many of their aspirations realized with the signing of Lausanne.
The Lausanne Peace Conference concluded on July 24, 1923, with an agreement between the Turkish delegation, led by General İsmet İnönü, and representatives from the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Japan, Yugoslavia, and Belgium. The conference featured over eight months of arduous negotiations, marked by Türkiye’s firm stance on achieving full independence.
On this day 102 years ago, Türkiye emerged victorious from the Lausanne negotiations, securing its rightful sovereignty and laying the foundation for the proclamation of the Republic just three months later.
Among the collapsed empires of World War I, Türkiye distinguished itself as the only successor state that refrained from joining the revisionist bloc in the 1930s. The enduring success of the Lausanne Treaty, and the century of relative peace it has helped maintain, can be attributed to the realistic and equitable balance struck between the former belligerents during the negotiations.
Wishing all Turkish Americans a meaningful and joyful Lausanne Anniversary!
Photo Caption: İsmet İnönü, Turkish Foreign Minister and head of the Turkish delegation, signing the Peace Treaty at the Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923.