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GAZİ MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATURK
He was born in 1881 in Thessaloniki, a province of the Ottoman Empire. His father is Ali Rıza Efendi and his mother is Zübeyde Hanım. After losing his father at a young age, he attended primary school in Semsi Efendi School in Thessaloniki. He continued his education at Thessaloniki Military High School and Manastır Military High School. He entered the Istanbul Military Academy in 1899 with the rank of infantry lieutenant in 1902, and graduated from the Military Academy as a staff captain in 1905.
Mustafa Kemal was assigned to the 5th Army in Damascus in 1905 and to the 3rd Army in Macedonia in 1907. While he was stationed in Monastir and Thessaloniki, he served in the Movement Army, which suppressed the uprising in Istanbul (31 March Incident) in 1909. He participated in the operation to suppress the Albanian rebellion. In 1911, he was sent to Tobruk after Italy landed troops in Tripoli. After successfully leading the Turkish Forces in Tobruk and Derne, he participated in the Balkan War in 1912-1913 with the rank of major; He served in the corps that recaptured Edirne from Bulgaria. He was an attaché in Sofia between 1913-1915. In the First World War, in 1915, he participated in the Dardanelles War as the Commander of the 19th Division. Successfully stopped the enemy attacks at Gallipoli; He became famous as the "Hero of Anafartalar".
MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATÜRK
In 1916, he was appointed as the Corps Commander of the Eastern Front and was promoted to the rank of general. Mustafa Kemal, who stopped the Russian attacks, took Bingöl and Muş back from the enemy. In 1917, he was appointed to the 7th Army Command in Palestine and Syria. In the same year, he went to Germany with Crown Prince Vahdettin. He made investigations at the German General Headquarters and on the German war fronts. While he was the 7th Army Commander on the Syrian front, where he was reassigned in 1918, he came to Istanbul after the Armistice of Mudros, which was signed at the end of the First World War. He left Istanbul with the duty of Army Inspector, keeping secret his aim of saving the country from enemy occupation.
Mustafa Kemal, who went to Samsun on 19 May 1919 by way of the Black Sea, published the Amasya Circular on 22 June 1919. He informed the Turkish nation that "the integrity of the homeland and the independence of the nation are in danger, and a congress will be convened in Sivas to save the homeland with perseverance and determination." In addition, he resigned from the duty and military service given by the Ottoman Government and chaired the congresses held in Erzurum on 23 July 1919 and in Sivas on 4 September 1919.
In these congresses, decisions were taken and announced that "the nation will defend the homeland against the enemy invasion, a temporary government will be established for this purpose, a national assembly will be convened, and mandate and protection will not be accepted". With his efforts, the Turkish Grand National Assembly began its historic mission in Ankara on April 23, 1920; Mustafa Kemal was elected as the President of the Assembly and the Government. He announced to the world that the Turkish nation did not accept the Treaty of Sèvres signed between the Ottoman Government and the Entente Powers.
The advance of the Greek Forces, which occupied İzmir with the help of the Entente Powers, was stopped in 1921 with the First and Second İnönü wars. The Greek Army, which attacked again on August 23, 1921, was defeated and the Turkish Army led by Commander-in-Chief Mustafa Kemal Pasha ended the Battle of Sakarya with victory. The Greek Army suffered heavy losses in this war that lasted 22 days and nights. Because of this victory, Mustafa Kemal was given the rank of 'Marshal' and the title of 'Gazi' by the Turkish Grand National Assembly. The Turkish Army started a counter-attack on 26 August 1922 to save the homeland from enemy occupation. In the Battle of the Commander-in-Chief (30 August 1922), directed by Mustafa Kemal Pasha, the Turkish Army destroyed most of the Greek Army. The Turkish Army, following the routed and fleeing enemy forces, entered Izmir on September 9, 1922. On October 11, 1922, the Mudanya Armistice Agreement was signed and the Allies withdrew from the Turkish lands they occupied.
While the Republic was proclaimed by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 29 October 1923 after the War of Independence, Mustafa Kemal was elected President. Atatürk, who was elected president four times in a row until his death in 1938, became the president who held this office for the longest time.
Mustafa Kemal was given the surname Atatürk with the Law No. 2587 of 24.11.1934, and the use of this surname by others was prohibited.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk initiated the Five-Year Industrial Plan in 1933 with the aim of mitigating the effects of the 1929 World Economic Depression and accelerating the development of the country. In the same period, important steps were taken in foreign policy; Initiatives such as joining the League of Nations (1932), signing the Balkan Entente (1934), Montreux Straits Convention (1936) and the Sadabat Pact (1937) contributed to Turkey's prominence as an influential actor in its region and in the world. Atatürk made an intense diplomatic effort for Hatay to join the motherland, and this aim of his was realized in 1939 after his death.
Atatürk was not only a commander who successfully led the Turkish Nation's War of Independence, but also a genius statesman with his revolutions. For most of his 57-year life, he worked tirelessly for the independence and happiness of his nation and homeland and emerged victorious in every struggle he entered.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder, brave and unforgettable leader of the Republic of Turkey, passed away on November 10, 1938.
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