After the Mondros Armistice Agreement signed in 1918, most Turkish land including the İskenderun

Sanjak (Hatay region) was occupied by entente states. Since then, not only the south east part of Turkey,

but also Syria and Lebanon were under the French occupation. The İskenderun Sanjak, which underwent

French occupation following the Mondros Armistice, was defined as an autonomous territory, affiliated to

Syria with an agreement made between Turkey and France in 1921. After this date, both the Ankara Government

and the statesmen from the Sanjak namely Abdurrahman Melek, Tayfur Sökmen and Abdulgani

Turkmen had made great efforts to make the Hatay region join to Turkey, which led to a-20-year diplomatic

struggle. The Turkish dwellers who did not want to live under the French administration controlled İskenderun

Sanjak started to emigrate to the cities namely Mersin, Adana and İstanbul. The conflicts and fights

in this region caused unrest among people. Therefore, Tayfur Sökmen and his friends set up an organization

called ‘İskenderun ve Havalisi Müdafaa-i Hukuk Cemiyeti’ to help the people who had emigrated to other

cities and to stand up for the rights of the ones living in Hatay’s territory. The statesmen who were the starters

of the struggle of Hatay’s freedom and the establishment of the free state were appointed to the positions

such as presidency, prime ministry, speakership after the Hatay State was founded and their allegiance

to Ankara Government were also the points which were pointed out. In this study, all the developments starting

from the Mondros Armistice Agreement till the proclamation of independent Hatay State was studied.

Both Turks from Hatay and the Turkish Republic acted patiently and effectively during the course of firstly

being an independent state and later deciding to join to Turkey in the historical process. It was also evaluated

that mainly Mustafa Kemal, later Ankara Goverment and Turkish National Assembly’s interest in this issue

was analysed. Furthermore, the daily social life of Hatay in these days, ethnic structure and bureaucratic

changes were put forward and evaluated chronologically. Due to the German threat, the French directed his

attention to his territory and wanted to leave the Sanjak by establishing a structure which was convenient to

be controlled by them. France recognized Syria’s independence and left the control of İskenderun Sanjak to

Syria in 1936. Following this, Turkey sent a diplomatic note to France claiming that the Sanjak should have

been independent. France rejected Turkey’s demand on this issue by stating that this had not been declared

in Ankara Agreement. Meanwhile, Atatürk ordered the name of İskenderun and around it to be changed as

Hatay as it is known today. In 1937, the League of Nations defined a special status for Sanjak and the Sanjak

Constitution was established. By the report written by Sandler, an appointed diplomat from the League

of Nations, Turkey and France made an agreement on this issue and the Sanjak’s territorial integrity and the

borders were granted and Turkish-Syrian borders were determined. Besides, it was also decided that an election

would be held. As a result, in order to form a parliament to determine the future of Sanjak, it was envisaged

to make an election. Following this decision firstly, the Hatay People’s Party was established and 22

of the 40 elected deputies for the Hatay Parliament were composed of Turks, who would also serve at the highest

ranks of the Hatay State for the Turks of Hatay. After the election, Hatay National Assembly was convened

in September 1938 and that day was proclaimed the national day of Hatay. On the same day, Tayfur

Sökmen was appointed as the head of the state by the vote of 40 members of the Assembly. Continuity and

transivity not only between Turkish National Assembly and Hatay National Assembly but also Republican

People’s Party and Hatay People’s Party can be understood easily. As for standing orders, they were also adjusted

to Turkish rules by rejecting Syrian rules since the deputies reminded that Hatay was an independent

state. The developments such as similarity of Hatay Government’s program to the program of RepublicanPeople’s Party and similarity of Hatay Parliament’s legislation to the 1924 Constitution foreshadowed that

the Hatay National Parliament would soon decide to be annexed to the Republic of Turkey. Another similarity

accepted by the Hatay National Assembly was the Hatay Flag, which was nearly same as Turkish Flag.

Independent Hatay State was designed completely in the direction of Turkish Government. Moreover, adjustment

laws to the Turkish Republic enacted and nearly all bureaucratic decisions were interrelated with

Turkey.