Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK
 

(19 May 1881  – 10 November 1938)    was   a Turkish  army  officer,
tatesman and   the  first  President  of   Turkey.   He  is  credited  with
being the  founder  of  the  Republic  of  Turkey. His surname, Atatürk
(meaning  "Father of the Turks"),   was  granted  to  him in 1934  and
forbidden to any other person by the Turkish parliament.
 

Atatürk  was   a  military  officer  during World  War I    Following   the
efeat  of the  Ottoman  Empire  in  World War I,  he  led   the  Turkish
ational   Movement   in  the Turkish  War  of   Independence.  Having

established a provisional government  in  Ankara,  he  defeated   the

forces sent  by the  Allies. His  military  campaigns  led  to  victory  in
the Turkish War of   Independence.   Atatürk  then embarked upon  a
rogram  of   political,   economic  and  cultural   reforms,  seeking   to
transform  the  former   Ottoman  Empire  into a modern and  secular 
nation-state. Under his leadership,   thousands of new schools  were
uilt, primary education was made  free and compulsory  and  women
were given equal civil and political rights, while the burden of taxation
on peasants was reduced. The principles of Atatürk's reforms, upon
which modern Turkey was established, are referred to as Kemalism.