Ataturk's Life #######

Ataturk's Life

"There
are two Mustafa Kemals. One is the flesh-and-bone Mustafa Kemal who now
stands before you and who will pass away. The other is you, all of you
here who will go to the far corners of our land to spread the ideals
which must be defended with your lives if necessary. I stand for the
nation's dreams, and my life's work is to make them come true."

Atatürk stands as one of the world's few historic figures who dedicated their lives totally to their nations.

He was born in 1881 (probably in the Spring) in Selanik, then an
Ottoman city, now in Greece. His father, Ali Riza, a customs official
turned timber merchant, died when Mustafa was still a boy. His mother,
Zubeyde, a devout and strong-willed woman, raised him and his sister.
First enrolled in a traditional religious school, he soon switched to a
modern school. In 1893, he entered a military high school where his
mathematics teacher gave him the second name Kemal (meaning
"perfection") in recognition of young Mustafa's superior achievement.
He was thereafter known as Mustafa Kemal.

In 1905, Mustafa Kemal graduated from the Military Academy in Istanbul
with the rank of Staff Captain. Posted in Damascus, he started, with
several colleagues, a clandestine society called "Homeland and Freedom"
to fight against the Sultan's despotism. Mustafa Kemal's career
flourished as he won fame and promotions because of his heroism in the
farflung corners of the Ottoman Empire, including Albania and Tripoli.
He also briefly served as a staff officer in Selanik and Istanbul and
as a military attache in Sofia.

When the Dardanelles campaign was launched in 1915, Colonel Mustafa
Kemal became a national hero by winning successive vistories and
finally repelling the invaders. Promoted to general in 1916, at age 35,
he liberated two major provinces in eastern Antalia that year. In the
next two years, he served as commander of several Ottoman armies in
Palestine and Aleppo, achieving anotherr major victory by stopping the
enemy advance at Aleppo.

On May 19, 1919, Mustafa Kemal landed in the Black Sea port of Samsun
to start the War of Independence. In defiance of the Sultan's
government, he rallied a liberation army in Anatolia and convened the
Congresses of Erzurum and Sivas which established the basis for the new
national effort under his leadership. On April 23, 1920, the Grand
National Assembly was inaugurated. Mustafa Kemal was elected to its
Presidency.

Fighting on many fronts, he led his forces to victory against rebels
and invading armies. Following the Turkish triumph at the two major
battles at Inonu in Western Turkey, the Grand National Assembly
conferred on Mustafa Kemal the title of Commander-in-Chief with the
rank of Marshal. At the end of August 1922, the Turkish armies won
their ultimate victory. Within a few weeks, the Turkish mainland was
completely liberated, the armistice signed, and the rule of the Ottoman
dynasty abolished.

In July 1923, the national government signed the Lausanne Treaty with
Great Britain, France, Greece, Italy and others. In mid-October, Ankara
became the capital of the new Turkish State. On October 29, the
Republic was proclaimed and Mustafa Kemal Pasha was unanimously elected
President of the Republic.

The
account of Atatürk's fifteen-year presidency is a saga of dramatic
modernization. With indefatigable determination, he created a new
political and legal system, abolished the Caliphate and made both
government and education secular, gave equal rights to women, changed
the alphabet and advanced the arts, sciences, agriculture and industry.


In 1934, when the surname law was adopted, the national parliament gave him the name "Atatürk" (Father of Turks).

On November 10, 1938, following an illness of a few months, the
national liberator and the Father of modern Turkey died. His legacy to
his people and to the world endures.