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Atatürk (1881-1938)Turkish leader. Born Mustafa on 12 March 1881, in Salonika, he received the complimentary name Kemal as a cadet, and became an officer in the army of the Ottoman empire. He soon became involved in the struggle for Turkey's independence, taking part in the Young Turk uprising of 1909. He then played an important part in the defeat of the Italian army at Tripoli in 1911 and against invading Allied forces at Gallipoli during World War I. In 1919, after the war, he was made an army commander in Anatolia. In May, at the port of Samsun on the Black Sea, he began his campaign to liberate the humiliated and defeated Turkish nation from occupation by Greek and Allied troops. Gradually, he rallied Turkish society around him, and on 23 April 1920, he convened a Turkish Grand National Assembly, which elected him chairman and head of government. By 1923, Kemal's troops had liberated the Greek-occupied areas of Asia Minor, and he concluded the Treaty of Lausanne, in which Turkey's control over parts of Balkan Europe was confirmed and Allied rule over Istanbul ended. He then dissolved the centuries-old Ottoman empire, proclaiming the Turkish republic. During the next 15 years of his presidency, he carried out a remarkable programme of Westernisation: replacing Arabic writing with the Roman alphabet, creating a secularised state and education and introducing monogamous marriage. In foreign policy, he tried to remain neutral. He reformed the civil service and army, but twice failed to introduce a democratic government when he realised that his opponents would get more votes than him. In 1935, he was given the title 'Atatürk' (Father of the Turks) by the Grand National Assembly. His energy, drive and authority ensured that his reforms comprised a lasting basis for the Turkish state and inspired Middle Eastern leaders such as Nasser. He died on 10 November 1938. |
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