His Excellency Mustafa Kemal Atatürk |
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A portrait of Atatürk
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1st President of Turkey | |
In office 29 October 1923 – 10 November 1938 |
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Prime Minister |
İsmet İnönü Ali Fethi Okyar Celâl Bayar |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | İsmet İnönü |
Prime Minister of Turkey | |
In office 3 May 1920 – 24 January 1921 |
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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 |
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Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Ali Fethi Okyar |
Leader of the Republican People's Party | |
In office 9 September 1923 – 10 November 1938 |
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Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | İsmet İnönü |
Personal details | |
Born |
Ali Rıza oğlu Mustafa (Mustafa son of Ali Rıza) 19 May 1881 (conventional) Salonica, Salonica Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (now Thessaloniki, Greece) |
Died | 10 November 1938 Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul, Turkey |
(aged 57)
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 |
Spouse(s) | Lâtife Uşaklıgil (1923–25) |
Religion | See: Religious beliefs of Atatürk |
Awards | List (24 medals) |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Allegiance |
Ottoman Empire (1893–1919) Turkey (1921–1923) |
Service/branch |
Ottoman Army Turkish Army |
Rank | Marshal |
Commands | 19th Division 16th Corps 2nd Army 7th Army Yildirim Army Group Army of the Grand National Assembly |
Battles/wars |
List
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Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (pronounced [mustaˈfa ceˈmal aˈtaˌtyɾc]; 19 May 1881 (conventional) – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish army officer, revolutionary, and founder of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President from 1923 until his death in 1938.
Atatürk came to prominence for his role in securing the Ottoman Turkish victory at the Battle of Gallipoli during World War I. Following the Empire's defeat and subsequent dissolution, he led the Turkish National Movement, which resisted against the mainland Turkey's partition among the victorious Allied powers. Establishing a provisional government in present-day Turkish capital Ankara, he defeated the forces sent by the Allies, thus, emerging victorious from what is later referred to as the Turkish War of Independence. He subsequently proceeded to abolish the Ottoman Empire and proclaimed the foundation of the Turkish Republic in its place.
As the president of the newly formed Turkish Republic, Atatürk initiated a rigorous program of political, economic, and cultural reforms with the ultimate aim of building a modern and secular nation-state. He made primary education free and compulsory, opening thousands of new schools all over the country. Turkish women received equal civil and political rights during Atatürk's presidency ahead of many Western countries. His government also carried out an extensive policy of Turkification trying to create a single, united and largely homogeneous nation. The Turkish Parliament granted him the surname Atatürk in 1934, which means "Father of the Turks", in recognition of the role he played in building the modern Turkish Republic.