Mustafa Kemal Atatürk , [a] or Mustafa Kemal Pasha [b] until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal [c] from 1921 until 1934 [3] ( c. 1881 [d] – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal , revolutionary statesman, author, and the founding father of the Republic of Turkey , serving as its first president from 1923 until his death in 1938. He undertook sweeping progressive reforms , which modernized Turkey into a secular, industrializing nation. [4] [5] [6] [7] Ideologically a secularist and nationalist , his pol
Atatürk came to prominence for his role in securing the Ottoman Turkish victory at the Battle of Gallipoli (1915) during World War I . [9] Following the defeat and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire , he led the Turkish National Movement , which resisted mainland Turkey's partition among the victorious Allied powers . The rise of Turkish nationalism saw the Ottoman Empire perpetrate genocides against its Greek , Armenian and Assyrian subjects ; while not directly involved, Atatürk's role in their aftermath b
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, progressive and secular nation-state. He made primary education free and compulsory, opening thousands of new schools all over the country. He also introduced the Latin-based Turkish alphabet , replacing the old Ottoman Turkish alphabet . Turkish women received equal civil and political rights during Atatürk's presidency. [10] In