Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s Six‐Day Speech of 1927: Defining the Official Historical View of the Foundation of the Turkish Republic

The Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 as a modern nation‐state. The years preceding this, 1919 to 1922, are seen by the Turks as the years of their struggle for independence (millî mücadele), led by Mustafa Kemal (1881–1938), later known as Atatürk and the first president of the republic. On October 15–20, 1927, Kemal presented his famous six‐day speech (Nutuk) at the General Congress of the Republican Party, giving his own account of the War of Independence. This essay analyzes the role this speech plays in defining the official historical view of the foundation of the Turkish Republic.