Timeline of the Great Reforms in Constantinople (Queen of Cities)

This is the timeline of the Great Reforms, a set of policies that were adopted by the Constantinopolitan government in the 1930s and 1940s. Inspired by the success of Atatürk's reforms in neighboring Turkey, the ruling pan-ethnic Citizens' Front seized power through the 1935 April Crisis and began sweeping reforms under authoritarian rule. The main goal of the Great Reforms was to bring an end to the ethnic and social divisions that had previously plagued the city-state while modernizing the economy by encouraging industrialization, which would secure the independence of a multi-ethnic Constantinople from neighboring nation states such as Greece and Turkey. In a short span of time these reforms managed to transform the country into a secular society with a modern industrial economy and a relatively strong welfare state. Culturally, the Great Reforms resulted in the fusion of the many communities that had previously been present in the city into a new French-speaking identity with a culture that borrowed elements from many different sources.

Politically, the Great Reforms broke with the ideology of multiculturalism and cohabitation that had allowed the creation of the Sovereign City of Constantinople (1925-1943). While the Sovereign City was based on the autonomy of all communities vis-à-vis the government, with education and health care being delegated to various religious and charitable organizations. In addition, the Sovereign City's directorial form of government represented an ideal of consensus-based government where each ethnic group would get representation in accordance with its proportion of the population. Culminating in the 1943 Constitution, the Great Reforms declared Constantinople to be a democratic, secular and social republic where all citizens would be treated as equals, regardless of their ethnicity, thus enshrining the principle of universalism into the Republic's foundation. French, which had previously served as the lingua franca for the city's elites would be declared as the country's sole official language.

First reforms under the Sovereign City of Constantinople

 * Political: March 5, 1925: Constantinople Agreement, Britain and France agree to the creation of a self-governing Constantinopolitan city-state
 * Political: March 6, 1925: Proclamation of the Sovereign City of Constantinople
 * Political: March 7, 1925: adoption of the 1922 constitutional project as the Constitution of the Sovereign City
 * Economic: April 8, 1927: 48-hour workweek
 * Economic: January 12, 1931: creation of the Constantinopolitan Metropolitan Bank
 * Political: January 5, 1933: creation of the Metropolitan Police

Reforms of the Citizens' Front-led Directory

 * Political: April 5, 1935: d'Andria Law - adoption of first-past-the-post under the threat of military intervention
 * Economic: September 13, 1935: minimum wage
 * Economic: February 21, 1936: prohibition of child labor
 * Educational: April 3, 1936: creation of French-speaking public schools
 * Economic: June 4, 1937: creation of programs of unemployment and disability benefits
 * Economic: September 3, 1937: 45-hour workweek, 10 days of paid vacation
 * Social: March 11, 1938: adoption of the metric system
 * Social: December 30, 1938: program of health insurance for low-income and old-age citizens
 * Legal: May 11, 1939: introduction of a new penal code
 * Legal: May 12, 1939: introduction of a new civil code modeled after the Swiss civil code
 * Legal: May 19, 1939: uniformization of the legal system, abolition of religious courts
 * Economic: November 30, 1939: nationalization of railways under the Constantinopolitan Railway Authority (RCCF)
 * Social: March 8, 1940: Constantinopolitan Family Name Law, introduction of hereditary last names
 * Social: March 8, 1940: Francization of all names
 * Educational: April 1, 1940: Latinization of Constantinopolitan Turkish in accordance with Atatürk's language reforms
 * Political: January 24, 1941: French becomes the official language of Parliament
 * Educational: June 12, 1942: secularization of the education system
 * Educational: June 15, 1942: centralization of education, all schools pass under government control

Reforms under the Republic of Constantinople

 * Political: May 24, 1943: adoption of a new constitution
 * creation of a democratic, secular and social republic
 * French is declared as sole official language of the Constantinople
 * recognition of equality between men and women, women are granted the right to vote and the right to be elected
 * creation of the Constantinopolitan Armed Forces, introduction of conscription for all male citizens (18-30 years)
 * Educational: July 16, 1943: primary and secondary education in French is rendered free, secular, and compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16
 * Social: May 12, 1944: adoption of the General Urban Plan, subdivision of the city into 18 arrondissements (boroughs) and beginning of massive public works on urban renewal
 * Social: October 16, 1945: right to strike
 * Political: October 24, 1945: the Republic of Constantinople is a founding member of the United Nations
 * Economic: November 2, 1945: adoption of the Industrial and General Development Plans (planned economy)
 * Educational: December 20, 1946: creation of French-speaking public universities
 * Social: September 24, 1948: introduction of ethnic quotas in public housing and public education