Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey.
Atatürk was a military officer during World War I. Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, he led the Turkish national 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 gained Turkey independence. Atatürk then embarked upon a program of political, economic, and cultural reforms, seeking to transform the former Ottoman Empire into a modern, westernized and secular nation-state. The principles of Atatürk's reforms, upon which modern Turkey was established, are referred to as Kemalism.

Early life

Mustafa was born on an undetermined date in the early months of 1881, either in the Ahmed Subaşı neighbourhood or in Islahhane Street in the Koca Kasım Pasha neighbourhood in Salonica , Ottoman Empire, to his mother Zübeyde Hanım  and father Ali Rıza Efendi. Only one of Atatürk's siblings, a sister named Makbule  survived childhood; she died in 1956. According to Andrew Mango, he was born into a family which was Muslim, Turkish-speaking and precariously middle-class. Time magazine states that Mustafa Kemal's father was of Albanian and his mother was of Macedonian origin, and Patrick Kinross wrote that he was as fair as any Slav from beyond the Bulgarian frontier with fine white skin and eyes of a deep but clear light blue. According to Encyclopaedia Judaica, one assertion that was commonly made by many Jews of Salonika was that Kemal Atatürk was of Doenmeh origin. Many of Atatürk’s religious opponents eagerly embraced this view, the Turkish government denied it. His father Ali Rıza is thought to be of Albanian origin; however, according to Falih Rıfkı Atay, Ali Rıza's ancestors were from Söke in the Aydın Province of Anatolia. His mother Zübeyde is thought to be of Turkish origin and according to Şevket Süreyya Aydemir, she was of Yörük ancestry.

Born Mustafa, his second name Kemal was given to him by his mathematics teacher, Captain Üsküplü Mustafa Efendi, according to Afet Inan in admiration of his capability and maturity, and according to Ali Fuat Cebesoy, because his teacher Mustafa Efendi wanted to distinguish his student who carried the same name with him, although his biographer Andrew Mango suggests that he may have chosen the name himself as a tribute to the nationalist poet Namık Kemal. In his early years, his mother encouraged Mustafa to attend a religious school, something he did reluctantly and only briefly. Later, he attended the Şemsi Efendi School  at the direction of his father. His parents wanted him to learn a trade, but without consulting them, Atatürk took the entrance exam for the Salonica Military School in 1893. In 1896, he enrolled into the Monastir Military High School. On 14 March 1899, he enrolled at the Ottoman Military Academy in the neighbourhood of Pangaltı within the Şişli district of the Ottoman capital city Constantinople  and graduated in 1902. He later graduated from the Ottoman Military College in Constantinople on 11 January 1905.

Personal life

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his wife Latife Uşakizade during a trip in 1923.On 29 January 1923, Mustafa Kemal married Latife Uşaklıgil; they were divorced on 5 August 1925. He never remarried. During his lifetime, Atatürk adopted twelve daughters and a son. In his leisure time, he enjoyed reading and writing , horseback riding, chess, and swimming. He was also an avid dancer and enjoyed both the waltz and traditional Zeybek folk dances.

During 1937, indications that Atatürk's health was worsening started to appear. In early 1938, while he was on a trip to Yalova, he suffered from a serious illness. He went to İstanbul for treatment, where he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver due to heavy alcohol consumption. During his stay in İstanbul, he made an effort to keep up with his regular lifestyle for a while. He died on 10 November 1938, at the age of 57, in the Dolmabahçe Palace, where he spent his last days. The clock in the bedroom where he died is still set to the time of his death, 9:05 in the morning. Atatürk's funeral called forth both sorrow and pride in Turkey, and seventeen countries sent special representatives, while nine contributed armed detachments to the cortège. Mustafa Kemal's remains were originally laid to rest in the Ethnography Museum of Ankara, and transferred on 10 November 1953, 15 years after his death in a 42-ton sarcophagus, to a mausoleum that overlooks Ankara, Anıtkabir. In his will, he donated all of his possessions to the Republican People's Party, providing that the yearly interest of his funds would be used to look after his sister Makbule and his adopted children, and fund the higher education of the children of İsmet İnönü. The remainder of this yearly interest was willed to the Turkish Language Association and the Turkish Historical Society.