Turkey: Abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate on November 1, 1922

On November 1, 1922, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) passed decision number 308, officially abolishing the Ottoman Sultanate. This move ended the dynastic rule of the Ottoman family and established that no government other than the TBMM would be recognized within national borders.

The decision was driven by disputes over political representation following the War of Independence. As the Entente Powers invited both the Ankara-based TBMM and the Istanbul-based government to the Lausanne Peace Conference, the necessity of consolidating sovereignty became urgent. Mustafa Kemal Pasha led the efforts to separate the sultanate from the caliphate.

While the sultanate was abolished, the office of the caliphate was maintained, with the provision that the caliph would be elected by the TBMM from among the members of the Ottoman dynasty. Following the legislative change, the last Ottoman Sultan, Vahdettin, departed from Istanbul on November 17, 1922, aboard the British warship Malaya.