Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938) was a Turkish military officer and statesman who founded the Republic of Turkey and served as its first President from 1923 until his death. Born in Salonica in the Ottoman Empire, he first gained prominence for his defense of the Gallipoli peninsula in 1915. The turning point came on May 19, 1919, when he landed at Samsun and began organizing the national movement that won the Turkish War of Independence, leading to the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. As president he carried out sweeping reforms, introducing a Latin-based Turkish alphabet, modernizing education and law, and granting women the right to vote and stand for election. In 1934 the Grand National Assembly gave him the surname Atatürk, "Father of the Turks." His motto, "Peace at home, peace in the world," guided Turkish foreign policy, and his mausoleum, Anıtkabir, stands in Ankara.