Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was born in Salonica (now in Greece) in 1881. He is renown as the founder of the Republic of Turkey.
In 1915, he emerged as a military hero at the Dardenelles-Gallipoli and later became the leader of the Turkish national liberation struggle in 1919.
In 1923, as the creator of the new Republic of Turkey, Atatürk established a form of government that reflected the wishes of the people thru the Parliament.
Sweeping cultural and socio-political reforms took place. Between 1926 and 1930, legal changes led the way for Islamic religious laws to be abolished and a secular system emerged.
Atatürk initiated a program for economic development in Turkey, which consisted of agricultural expansion, industrial and technological advances.
Determined not to stop there, Atatürk undertook the greatest challenge of all - a reform of the existing language - In 1928, he decided to abolish the Arabic script and incorporated the Latin alphabet with the Turkish.
With this came the impetus to develop the education of the country's citizens. Primary education was declared compulsory and great prominence was given to the education of women.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was president for 15 years, until his death in 1938, on November 10th. His achievements are a legacy to the modern state of Turkey and he is considered a pioneer of national liberation. Today his Mausoleum is in Ankara.
For more information visit: