Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Kemal Atatürk (until 1934: Mustafa Kemal Pasha, Ottoman Turkish: مصطفى كمال پاشا‎; after 1935: Kamâl Atatürk; commonly referred to as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk) was a Turkish field marshal, secularist reformer, and statesman who became the first President of Turkey from 1923 until his death in 1938. He is known for being a leader of Turkey who freed the country from being controlled by other countries and later for starting changes that made Turkey more modern and similar to Western civilization, mainly Europe and the United States.

Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Atatürk during his presidency
1st President of Turkey
In office 29 October 1923 – 10 November 1938
Prime Minister	İsmet İnönü Ali Fethi Okyar Celâl Bayar
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	İsmet İnönü
1st Prime Minister of the Government of the Grand National Assembly
In office 3 May 1920 – 24 January 1921
Deputy	Fevzi Çakmak
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Fevzi Çakmak
1st Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
In office 24 April 1920 – 29 October 1923
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Ali Fethi Okyar
1st Leader of the Republican People's Party
In office 9 September 1923 – 10 November 1938
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	İsmet İnönü
Personal details
Born	Ali Rıza oğlu Mustafa (Mustafa son of Ali Rıza) 1881 Salonica, Salonica Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (now Thessaloniki, Greece)
Died	10 November 1938(1938-11-10) (aged 57) Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul, Turkey
Resting place	Ethnography Museum, Ankara (21 November 1938 – 10 November 1953) Anıtkabir, Ankara (from 10 November 1953)
Nationality	Turkish
Political party	Republican People's Party
Other political affiliations	Motherland and Liberty Committee of Union and Progress (He left it.) Association for the Defense of the Rights of Anatolia and Rumelia (Republican People's Party after 1923.)
Spouse(s)	Latife Uşaklıgil (1923–25)
Parents	Ali Rıza Efendi Zübeyde Hanım
Relatives	Makbule Atadan (sister)
Awards	List (24 medals)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Ottoman Empire (1893–1919) Turkey (1921–1927)
Branch/service	Ottoman Empire Army Turkish Army
Rank	Major General (Ottoman Army) Marshal (Turkish Army)
Commands	19th Division 16th Corps 2nd Army 7th Army Yildirim Army Group Army of the Grand National Assembly
Battles/wars	List Italo-Turkish War Tobruk Derna Balkan Wars Bulair Adrianople II World War I Anzac Cove Baby 700 No.3 Post Nek Chunuk Bair Scimitar Hill Hill 60 Suvla Bay Sari Bair Bitlis Southern Palestine Transjordan III Nablus Megiddo Jisr ed Damieh Samakh Damascus Jisr Benat Yakub Kiswe Kaukab Pursuit to Haritan Khan Ayash Aleppo Charge at Haritan Greco-Turkish War Sakarya Great Offensive
Graphical timeline Detailed chronology

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was born under the name Mustafa in 1881. His birth place was in Salonika, Macedonia (now Thessaloniki, Greece). Salonika was part of the Ottoman Empire at that time. He took the name Kemal as a schoolboy and Atatürk (which means Father of All Turks) when he was president. His father's name was Ali Rıza Efendi. His mother's name was Zübeyde Hanım. He also had a sister whose name was Makbule (Atadan). He became an army officer and the most successful general officer of the empire in World War I, fighting in Gallipoli.

When the Ottoman Empire was ended after the war, Atatürk organized a nationalist movement that created the new, secular, Republic of Turkey. This meant that the country's government was no longer led by hereditary or religious leaders. Visitors to Turkey are often surprised by the importance given to Atatürk in present-day Turkey.

Few countries have such a person in their history. He was a successful military commander, and later established a democratic constitution and put in place changes that set Turkey on the road to becoming a new and developing nation. He inspired many later leaders like Habib Bourguiba, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Sukarno, and Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

His six principles still serve today as a sign post for establishing a democratic government:

1. Republicanism: Replacing the hereditary monarchy with an elected parliament.
2. Nationalism: Citizens working together with pride in a common interest.
3. Secularism: Separating religion from government.
4. Populism: The equality of all citizens before the law.
5. Reformism: A constant process of development and modernisation.
6. Etatism: An economic system combining private enterprise with government-funded monopolies of large industries

External links

• Brief biography at Ataturk.com
• A description and gallery about him
• Ataturk.net
• Atatürk in color at YouTube
• Atatürk and Mufti Abdurrahman Kâmil Yetkin in Amasya (1930) at YouTube