Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (May 19, 1881 - November 10, 1938) was the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey. He is renowned for his radical reforms that modernized the country and established a secular state on the foundations of modern Turkey.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, born Mustafa Kemal in Thessaloniki (then part of the Ottoman Empire), is one of the most influential figures in modern Turkish history. After serving as an officer in the Ottoman army, he became the leader of the Turkish national movement which led to the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1923). In 1923, Atatürk founded the Republic of Turkey, becoming its first president until his death in 1938. His name "Atatürk" means "Father of the Turks" and was given to him in recognition of his role in forming modern Turkey. His notable reforms include the adoption of the Latin alphabet, the secularization of the state, gender equality, and the modernization of the education and legal systems.