Inspectorates-General (Turkey)

Inspectorates-General[1] or General Inspectorates[2] (Turkish: Umumi Müfettişlikler) was a regional governorship whose authorities prevailed over civilian, military and judicial institutions under their domain[1] but had to comply with the orders of Turkish president Mustafa Kemal.

[2] Their aim was to establish an authoritarian rule[1] and to consolidate the authority in the process of Turkification of religious and ethnic minorities.

[3] The Turkish Grand National Assembly got the law numbered 1164 and dated June 25, 1927, passed.

[4] Before Thrace pogroms, on February 19, 1934, the Second Inspectorate-General (İkinci Umumi Müfettişlik) including Kırklareli, Edirne, Tekirdağ and Çanakkale provinces, was established with the center in Edirne[5] On August 25, 1935, the Third Inspectorate-General (Üçüncü Umumi Müfettişlik) including Ağrı, Kars, Artvin, Rize, Trabzon, Gümüşhane, Erzincan and Erzurum provinces, was established with the center in Erzurum.

[5] In December 1936 a conference of the Inspector-Generals of all the four Inspectorates-Generals together with the Minister of the Interior Şükrü Kaya was held and an evaluation of the Turkification program was prepared.