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"There are two Mustafa Kemals. One is the flesh-and-bone
Mustafa Kemal who now stands before you and who will pass
away. The other is you, all of you here who will go to the
far corners of our land to spread the ideals which must
be defended with your lives if necessary. I stand for the
nation's dreams, and my life's work is to make them come
true."
Atatьrk stands as one of the world's few historic
figures who dedicated their lives totally to their nations.
He was born in 1881 (probably in the Spring) in Selanik,
then an Ottoman city, now in Greece. His father, Ali Riza,
a customs official turned timber merchant, died when Mustafa
was still a boy. His mother, Zubeyde, a devout and strong-willed
woman, raised him and his sister. First enrolled in a traditional
religious school, he soon switched to a modern school. In
1893, he entered a military high school where his mathematics
teacher gave him the second name Kemal (meaning "perfection")
in recognition of young Mustafa's superior achievement.
He was thereafter known as Mustafa Kemal.
In 1905, Mustafa Kemal graduated from the Military Academy
in Istanbul with the rank of Staff Captain. Posted in Damascus,
he started, with several colleagues, a clandestine society
called "Homeland and Freedom" to fight against
the Sultan's despotism. Mustafa Kemal's career flourished
as he won fame and promotions because of his heroism in
the farflung corners of the Ottoman Empire, including Albania
and Tripoli. He also briefly served as a staff officer in
Selanik and Istanbul and as a military attache in Sofia.
When the Dardanelles campaign was launched in 1915, Colonel
Mustafa Kemal became a national hero by winning successive
vistories and finally repelling the invaders. Promoted to
general in 1916, at age 35, he liberated two major provinces
in eastern Antalia that year. In the next two years, he
served as commander of several Ottoman armies in Palestine
and Aleppo, achieving anotherr major victory by stopping
the enemy advance at Aleppo.
On May 19, 1919, Mustafa Kemal landed in the Black Sea
port of Samsun to start the War of Independence. In defiance
of the Sultan's government, he rallied a liberation army
in Anatolia and convened the Congresses of Erzurum and Sivas
which established the basis for the new national effort
under his leadership. On April 23, 1920, the Grand National
Assembly was inaugurated. Mustafa Kemal was elected to its
Presidency.
Fighting on many fronts, he led his forces to victory against
rebels and invading armies. Following the Turkish triumph
at the two major battles at Inonu in Western Turkey, the
Grand National Assembly conferred on Mustafa Kemal the title
of Commander-in-Chief with the rank of Marshal. At the end
of August 1922, the Turkish armies won their ultimate victory.
Within a few weeks, the Turkish mainland was completely
liberated, the armistice signed, and the rule of the Ottoman
dynasty abolished.
In July 1923, the national government signed the Lausanne
Treaty with Great Britain, France, Greece, Italy and others.
In mid-October, Ankara became the capital of the new Turkish
State. On October 29, the Republic was proclaimed and Mustafa
Kemal Pasha was unanimously elected President of the Republic.
The account of Atatьrk's fifteen-year presidency is
a saga of dramatic modernization. With indefatigable determination,
he created a new political and legal system, abolished the
Caliphate and made both government and education secular,
gave equal rights to women, changed the alphabet and advanced
the arts, sciences, agriculture and industry.
In 1934, when the surname law was adopted, the national
parliament gave him the name "Atatьrk" (Father
of Turks).
On November 10, 1938, following an illness of a few months,
the national liberator and the Father of modern Turkey died.
His legacy to his people and to the world endures.
Some of the Important Reforms
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