TRENDEAtlas of the Sultans · 38 / 38 · president
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Founder of the Republic of Turkey
“The Republic of Turkey shall endure forever.”
He raised an independent republic out of an occupied country. He had its borders recognised at Lausanne, brought Kars and Antep within the National Pact, and founded a state that broke with the Ottoman order in law, alphabet, education and women's rights.
Open the reign of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on the mapFamily
| Father | Ali Rıza Efendi |
|---|---|
| Mother | Zübeyde Hanım |
| Consorts | Latife Uşaklıgil (1923–1925) |
| Children | He had no children of his own. Adopted children: Afet İnan, Sabiha Gökçen, Ülkü, Rukiye, Zehra, Nebile, Abdurrahim, Mustafa |
Major achievements
- Commander of the Anafartalar Group at Gallipoli (1915)
- Landing at Samsun (19 May 1919) and organisation of the National Movement; the Erzurum and Sivas congresses
- Opening of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (23 April 1920)
- Battle of Sakarya (1921) and the Great Offensive (1922)
- Abolition of the sultanate (1922) and the caliphate (1924); proclamation of the Republic (29 October 1923)
- Ankara made the capital
- Civil Code (1926), alphabet reform (1928), Surname Law (1934)
- Women's right to vote and stand for election (1934) — before many European countries
- Unification of education; the Turkish Language Association and the Turkish Historical Society
- Industrialisation programme with Sümerbank, Etibank and state factories
- Control of the Straits regained at Montreux (1936)
Treaties
- Treaties of Moscow and Kars (1921, Soviet Russia)
- Treaty of Ankara (1921, France)
- Armistice of Mudanya (1922)
- Treaty of Lausanne (1923) — recognition of the borders of the National Pact
- Balkan Entente (1934), Montreux Convention (1936), Treaty of Saadabad (1937)
Prime ministers
| Name | From | To | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| İsmet Pasha (İnönü) | October 30, 1923 | November 22, 1924 | 1 year, 23 days |
| Ali Fethi Bey (Okyar) | November 22, 1924 | March 3, 1925 | 101 days |
| İsmet İnönü (term 2) | March 3, 1925 | October 25, 1937 | 12 years, 236 days |
| Celâl Bayar | October 25, 1937 | January 25, 1939 | 1 year, 92 days |
Battles and treaties
| Year | Event | Result / parties |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | Battle: Battle of Sakarya | Turkish victory · Greek advance halted |
| 1921 | Treaty: Treaty of Moscow | Turkey (Ankara government), Soviet Russia |
| 1921 | Treaty: Treaty of Kars | Turkey (Ankara government), Soviet Caucasian republics |
| 1921 | Treaty: Treaty of Ankara | |
| 1922 | Battle: Great Offensive | Turkish victory · Armistice of Mudanya · End of the Turkish War of Independence |
| 1922 | Treaty: Armistice of Mudanya | |
| 1923 | Treaty: Treaty of Lausanne | France, United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Greece, Romania, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Turkey |
| 1934 | Treaty: Balkan Entente | Greece, Romania, Yugoslavia |
| 1936 | Treaty: Montreux Convention | |
| 1937 | Treaty: Treaty of Saadabad | Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan |
| 1939 | Event: Hatay joins Turkey | France (Syrian mandate) |
Full infoboxes are in the site’s “Battles and Treaties” tab; source: English Wikipedia.
Death
He died of cirrhosis in Dolmabahçe Palace on 10 November 1938 and is buried in Anıtkabir in Ankara.
Territorial change
The lands that changed hands in this period, and the battles or treaties that brought the changes, can be seen on the map: map of the reign of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.