The Anadolu Agency was founded in 1920 during the
Turkish War of Independence by the order of
Mustafa Kemal Pasha. As the
Empire's capital –
Constantinople – was under the
Ottoman sultans' control, all newspapers were also under the sultan's rule along with
British occupiers, and it was necessary for the revolutionary government to establish a communication and news network for
Anatolia and
Rumelia. Journalist
Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu and writer
Halide Edip, fleeing the
occupied capital, met in
Geyve and concluded that a new Turkish press agency was needed. The agency was officially launched on April 6, 1920, 17 days before the
Turkish Grand National Assembly convened for the first time. It announced the first legislation passed by the Assembly, which established the Republic of Turkey. Anadolu Agency is an active member of the
European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA). ==See also==