Lausanne Conference (1922–23)

Abstract

The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne superseded the Treaty of Sèvres of August 1920, which had ended World War I between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire. In the Sèvres treaty, the Allies had dealt with the Ottoman government in Constantinople; Lausanne was concluded with the Ankara “Government of the Grand National Assembly” (the precursor of the Turkish Republic). By treating with the Ankara government, the Allies at Lausanne acknowledged the assembly's formal abolition of the Ottoman Empire, announced on November 1, 1922, three weeks before the opening of the conference. Taken together, these two events, the deposition of the Ottoman Sultan and the Treaty of Lausanne, brought to a close the so‐called “Eastern Question,” a term that in the chancelleries of Europe served as shorthand for the dilemmas posed by the 150‐year decline and atrophy of the Ottoman Empire.The Treaty of Lausanne was unique among the World War I peace treaties for two reasons. First, Lausanne was anen blocreplacement of an earlier treaty, rather than part of a piecemeal revision; second, the Treaty of Lausanne was negotiated, whereas the Treaty of Sèvres, like the other treaties of the Paris peace settlement, had been imposed by the Allies. The Treaty of Lausanne, widely regarded as one of the constituent documents of modern Turkey, is still in force today.