First Chambers in the History
One of the indicators of the development process of the Ottoman economy in the 19th century was the chambers of commerce. The attempt to establish chambers of commerce serving for the development of domestic and foreign trade came to the fore in the last months of the reign of Abdulaziz (1861-1876). However, the Dersaadet (Istanbul) Chamber of Commerce was only able to come into operation in 1882.
Before the Dersaadet Chamber of Commerce, there was a similar institution, the "Trade and Agricultural Council" in the Ottoman Empire. With a decree dated June 25, 1875, the duties of this assembly in the fields of agriculture, industry and commerce were determined, and the Assembly was given the task of establishing "Agriculture and Trade Associations". After a while, this assembly was dissolved and its task was transferred to the newly created industry, trade and agriculture directorates.
The first chamber of commerce in Türkiye was established in Inebolu in 1870 to respond to the special needs of a French company exporting to its own country, but this organization, which lacked an economic and legal basis, dissolved after a while. In the same year, the "Austria-Hungary Chamber of Commerce and Industry" was established in Istanbul to take care of the interests of Austrian and Hungarian traders. "Ministry of Commerce and Agriculture" was established in 1876 in order to fill some gaps in the field of trade. An "Agriculture and Trade Association" was opened with the support of the "Trade and Agriculture Council" affiliated to the Ministry. The Tarsus Chamber of Commerce and Industry was established (1879) as a result of the need for an organization that could perform the export operations of the cotton sent abroad in Çukurova, which met some of the cotton needs of the rapidly developing European textile industry in the 1800s. The first chamber officially organized in our country is the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce. As mentioned above, the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce was opened in 1882 with the initiative of the Ministry of Commerce and Agriculture.
Until 1910, when the first legal regulation regarding the chambers of commerce and industry was made, the chambers were organized under the name of "Chambers of Commerce, Agriculture and Industry" by the order of the Ministry of Commerce and Agriculture. In this period, Trabzon(1884), Muğla (1885), İzmir, Antalya and Mersin (1886), Balıkesir, Bursa (1889), Adana (1884), Şanlıurfa (1894), Eskişehir (1895), Kayseri, Siverek (1896), Giresun, Antep (1898), Fethiye (1901), Bafra (1903), Isparta (1905), Bartın (1906), Samsun (1907), Manisa, Silifke and Sivas (1908) Chambers were established.
With the "Regulation of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry" published on May 31, 1910, the chamber of agriculture was excluded, and the chambers of commerce and industry became the organization of only members of commerce and industry. The innovation brought by the charter in terms of organization is the opportunity for managers to be elected by tradesmen and industrialists who are members of the chamber. Afyon (1910), Çorum (1911), İzmit (1913), Kırşehir, Ödemiş (1914), Bayburt (1915), Zonguldak (1919), Edirne, Elazığ (1920), Milas (1912), Ceyhan, Erzurum, Kilis (1922), Aksaray, Niğde, Burhaniye, Çankırı, Artvin, Çanakkale, Fatsa and İnegöl Chambers of Commerce and Industry (1923) were established.
The most important organizational development was achieved with the Law on the Chambers of Commerce and Industry, dated April 22, 1925 and numbered 655. The law numbered 655 and the by-law put into effect pursuant to this law, bound the establishment and functioning of the chambers to certain principles. Another important innovation brought by the law is the recognition that chambers are professional organizations with legal personality. The law obliges those dealing with commerce and industry to enter the chambers. Another important aspect of the law is that it makes the working areas of the chambers regional rather than local.
The Law No. 4355 on Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Chambers of Craftsmen and Commodity Exchanges enacted on 18.11.1943 repealed the law no. 655. Law No. 4355 increased the number of organs in the chambers to three. The Law on Tradesmen's Associations and Tradesmen's Associations, dated 25.04.1949 and numbered 5373, enabled small tradesmen and industrialists to leave the chambers and establish associations. With the law dated 8.3.1950 and numbered 5590, chambers, commodity exchanges and the union gained their present status.
Commodity exchanges, which were established and operated as a branch of the chambers of commerce and industry until the Law No. 4355 dated 1943 came into force, had the opportunity to organize as separate legal entities with this law. The stock exchanges, which gained their current order with the law numbered 5590, also found a rapid development environment.
The chambers and commodity exchanges that needed to gather under a single roof in order to better represent the rights and interests of their members over time became the 32 chambers of commerce and industry, 8 chambers of commerce, 1 chamber of industry after the TOBB Establishment Law No. 5590 came into force on March 8, 1950. and the representatives of 20 commodity exchanges came together and established the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye on February 7, 1952.
