Republic Day is celebrated in Turkey today. This is the most important national holiday in Turkey and commemorates the proclamation of the republic in 1923. On October 29, 1923, Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Ataturk) declared that Turkey was from now on a republic (cumhūrīyet). In fact, Turkey was a republic from April 23, 1920 with the establishment of the Grand National Assembly in Ankara, but official recognition came only three years later. On October 29, 1923, an amending law established the republic as the form of government and introduced the office of President of the Republic. After that, a vote took place in the great National Assembly and Mustafa Kemal Pascha (Ataturk) was elected as the first President of the Republic of Turkey. Since then, October 29th has been celebrated as Republic Day every year with parades, events and cultural programs in schools. We wish everyone a happy holiday, “Cumhuriyet Bayramı Kutlu olsun”