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Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–November 10, 1938), until 1934 Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha, Turkish army officer and revolutionary statesman, was the founder and the first President of the Republic of Turkey. Mustafa Kemal established himself as a successful military commander while serving as a division commander in the Battle of Gallipoli. Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the hands of the Allies, and the subsequent plans for its partition, Mustafa Kemal led the Turkish national movement in what would become the Turkish War of Independence. His successful military campaigns led to the liberation of the country and the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. As the Republic's first president, Mustafa Kemal introduced a range of far reaching reforms which sought to create a modern, democratic and secular state. According to the Law on Family Names, the Turkish National Assembly presented Mustafa Kemal with the name "Atatürk" (meaning "Father Turk" or "Ancestor Turk") on November 24, 1934.

Post war life and reforms

Mustafa Kemal Pasha's victory in the Turkish War of Independence assured Turkey's sovereignty. Through the Treaty of Lausanne signed on July 24, 1923, after a disastrous decade of warfare and heavy losses started with the Balkan Wars in 1912, immediately followed by World War I in 1914 and the invasion of Anatolia posed by the Treaty of Sèvres, Turkey finally entered a period of peace despite irredentist opposition in the National Assembly and elsewhere.

Reforms

Political consolidation

Mustafa Kemal's reforms caused some opposition in the Republican People's Party ("Cumhuriyet Halk Fırkası" in Turkish) which was founded by Mustafa Kemal himself in September 9, 1923. Then Mustafa Kemal directed General Kazım Karabekir to establish the Progressive Republican Party ("Terakkiperver Cumhuriyet Fırkası" in Turkish) for opposition in Turkish National Assembly. This party opposed state socialism of the Republican People's Party and suggested liberalism. But after some time, the new party was taken over by people Atatürk considered fundamentalists. In 1925, partly in response to the provocations of Sheikh Said, the Maintenance of Order Law was passed, giving Atatürk the authority to shut down subversive groups. The Progressive Republican Party was quickly disestablished under the new law, an act he claimed was necessary for preserving the Turkish state. The closure of the party was seen by some later biographers, such as Harold C. Armstrong, as an act of dictatorship.

On August 11, 1930, Mustafa Kemal decided to try a democratic movement once again. He charged Ali Fethi Okyar with establishing a new party. In Mustafa Kemal's letter to Ali Fethi Okyar, laicism was insisted on. At first, the brand new Liberal Republican Party succeeded all around the country. But once again the opposition party became too strong in its opposition to Atatürk's reforms, particularly in regard to the role of religion in public life. Finally Ali Fethi Okyar abolished his own party and Mustafa Kemal never succeeded in democratising the parliamentary system. He sometimes dealt sternly with opposition in pursuing his main goal of democratizing the country. One of the criticisms which persists today is that Atatürk did not promote democracy, yet as his biographer notes "Between the two wars, democracy could not be sustained in many richer and better educated societies. Ataturk's enlightened authoritarianism left a reasonable space for free private lives. More could not be expected in his lifetime."

Culture and the arts

Atatürk once stated: "Culture is the foundation of the Turkish Republic." His view of culture included both his own nation's creative legacy and what he saw as the more admirable values of world civilization, and he put an emphasis on humanism above all. He once described modern Turkey's ideological thrust as "a creation of patriotism blended with a lofty humanist ideal."

So as to assist in the creation of such a synthesis, Atatürk stressed the need to utilize the elements of the national heritage of the Turks and of Anatolia, including its ancient indigenous cultures as well as the arts and techniques of other world civilizations, both past and present. He emphasized the study of earlier Anatolian civilizations, such as the Hittites, Phrygians, and Lydians. The pre-Islamic culture of the Turks became the subject of extensive research, and particular emphasis was laid upon the fact that, long before the Seljuk and Ottoman civilizations, the Turks had had a rich culture. Atatürk also stressed the folk arts of the countryside as a wellspring of Turkish creativity.

The visual and the plastic arts, whose development had on occasion been arrested by some Ottoman officials claiming that the depiction of the human form was idolatry, were highly encouraged and supported by Atatürk, and these flourished in the new Turkish republic. Many museums were opened; architecture began to follow modern trends; and classical Western music, opera, and ballet, as well as the theatre, also took greater hold. Several hundred "People's Houses" and "People's Rooms" across the country allowed greater access to a wide variety of artistic activities, sports, and other cultural events. Book and magazine publications increased as well, and the film industry began to grow.

International relations

During Atatürk's later years, the newly founded Republic of Turkey hosted visits of many foreign monarchs and heads of state to Ankara and Istanbul including, in chronological order, King Amanullah Khan of Afghanistan (May 1928), Prime Minister of Hungary Count István Bethlen (October 1930), King Faisal I of Iraq (June 1932), Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos of Greece (October 1932), King Alexander I of Yugoslavia (October 1933), Shah Reza Pahlavi of Persia (June 1934), King Gustav V Adolf of Sweden (October 1934), King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (September 1936), and King Abdullah I of Jordan (June 1937). Many of the visits meaningfully coincided with the Republic Day, October 29, the anniversary of the declaration of the new Turkish Republic by the Turkish Grand National Assembly, in 1923.

Mustafa Kemal participated in forging close ties with the former enemy, Greece, culminating in a visit to Ankara by Greek premier Eleftherios Venizelos, in 1932. Venizelos even forwarded Atatürk's name for the 1934 Nobel Peace Prize, highlighting the mutual respect between the two leaders.

Family and personal life

On January 29, 1923, Atatürk married Latife Hanım (Uşaklıgil), which lasted until August 5, 1925.

Atatürk adopted his daughters Afet (İnan), Sabiha (Gökçen), who later became the first female combat pilot of the world, Fikriye, Ülkü, Nebile, Rukiye, Zehra and his son Mustafa. Additionally, he had two children under his protection, Abdurrahim and İhsan.

Legacy

[[Image:Ataturk's Mausoleum in Ankara (tr).jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anıtkabir (1944-1953), Kemal Atatürk's mausoleum in

Images of Atatürk

See also

• Atatürk's Reforms
• Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)
• History of the Republic of Turkey
• Kemalism
• Pontic Greek Genocide
• Turkish War of Independence
• World War I

References

• Kinross, Patrick (2003). Ataturk: The Rebirth of a Nation. Phoenix Press. ISBN 1-84212-599-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
• Mango, Andrew (2004). Ataturk: The Biography of the founder of Modern Turkey. John Murray. ISBN 0719565928.

1. Armstrong, Harold Courtenay (1972), Grey Wolf, Mustafa Kemal: An Intimate Study of a Dictator. Beaufort Books; Reprint edition. ISBN 0836969626.
2. Andrew Mango, Ataturk. p.536
3. Nobel Foundation. The Nomination Database for the Nobel Prize in Peace, 1901-1955.
4. Terra Anatolia - Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938)

External links

• Ataturk.net, a website dedicated to Atatürk
• Longest Atatürk Biography Template:Tr icon
• His biography and reforms
• Quotes of and quotes on Atatürk
• Atatürk Gallery by the Ministry of Culture, Republic of Turkey
• Biography, the Revolutions and a speech excerpt from the Ministry of Culture, Republic of Turkey
• www.turkishnews.com/Ataturk/life.htm Turkishnews.com - Atatürk's life
• Memorial to Ataturk in Istanbul at the Sites of Memory webpage
• Ataturk Center of Azerbaijan Template:Az icon
• http://www.atatuerk.com/

v t e Presidents of Turkey
List
Presidents	Mustafa Kemal Atatürk İsmet İnönü Celâl Bayar Cemal Gürsel Cevdet Sunay Fahri Korutürk Kenan Evren Turgut Özal Süleyman Demirel Ahmet Necdet Sezer Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Acting presidents	Abdülhalik Renda Tekin Arıburun İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil Hüsamettin Cindoruk

v t e Prime ministers of Turkey
Government of the Grand National Assembly (1920–1923)	Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Fevzi Çakmak Rauf Orbay Fethi Okyar
Republic of Turkey (1923–2018)	İsmet İnönü Fethi Okyar İsmet İnönü Celâl Bayar Refik Saydam Ahmet Fikri Tüzer Şükrü Saracoğlu Recep Peker Hasan Saka Şemsettin Günaltay Adnan Menderes Cemal Gürsel Fahri Özdilek İsmet İnönü Suat Hayri Ürgüplü Süleyman Demirel Nihat Erim Ferit Melen Naim Talu Bülent Ecevit Sadi Irmak Süleyman Demirel Bülent Ecevit Süleyman Demirel Bülent Ecevit Süleyman Demirel Bülent Ulusu Turgut Özal Ali Bozer Yıldırım Akbulut Mesut Yılmaz Süleyman Demirel Erdal İnönü Tansu Çiller Mesut Yılmaz Necmettin Erbakan Mesut Yılmaz Bülent Ecevit Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Ahmet Davutoğlu Binali Yıldırım
Italics denote acting prime ministers.

v t e Speakers of the Parliament of the Republic of Turkey
Grand National Assembly Büyük Millet Meclisi (1920–1960)	Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Fethi Okyar Kâzım Özalp Abdülhalik Renda Kâzım Karabekir Ali Fuat Cebesoy Şükrü Saracoğlu Refik Koraltan
House of Representatives Temsilciler Meclisi (1961)	Kâzım Orbay
Grand National Assembly in period of Bicameralism Büyük Millet Meclisi Çift Meclisli Dönemde (1961–1980)	Senate of the Republic Cumhuriyet Senatosu Suat Hayri Ürgüplü Enver Aka Şevki Atasagun Tekin Arıburun Sırrı Atalay İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil National Assembly Millet Meclisi Fuat Sirmen Ferruh Bozbeyli Sabit Osman Avcı Kemal Güven Cahit Karakaş
Consultative Assembly Danışma Meclisi (1981–1983)	Sadi Irmak
Grand National Assembly Büyük Millet Meclisi (since 1983)	Necmettin Karaduman Yıldırım Akbulut İsmet Kaya Erdem Hüsamettin Cindoruk İsmet Sezgin Mustafa Kalemli Hikmet Çetin Ömer İzgi Bülent Arınç Köksal Toptan Mehmet Ali Şahin Cemil Çiçek İsmet Yılmaz İsmail Kahraman Binali Yıldırım Mustafa Şentop Numan Kurtulmuş
Interim speakers of the parliament	Şerif Bey Abdurrahman Şeref Hasan Saka Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan Necip Asım Yazıksız Besim Ömer Akalın Suphi Artel Ali Münif Yeğenağa Hüseyin Cahit Yalçın Ali Fuat Cebesoy Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu Orhan Seyfi Orhon İsmet İnönü Kinyas Kartal Fahrettin Özdilek Kamil Tuğrul Coşkunoğlu Ali Rıza Septioğlu Süleyman Arif Emre Şükrü Elekdağ Oktay Ekşi Deniz Baykal Durmuş Yılmaz Devlet Bahçeli

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• Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
• Presidents of Turkey
• Prime Ministers of Turkey
• Speakers of the Parliament of Turkey
• Leaders of political parties in Turkey
• Field Marshals of Turkey
• Pashas
• Turkish War of Independence
• World War I people
• Revolutionaries
• Muslim politicians
• Muslim reformers
• People from Thessaloniki
• 1881 births
• 1938 deaths
• Turkish Freemasons