Who was Mustafa Kemal,the life ,biography ,quotes and the Reforms.

Ataturk (19 May 1881 - 10 November 1938) was an army officer, revolutionary statesman, and founder of the Republic of Turkey as well as its first President.

He established himself as an intelligent and extremely capable military commander while serving as a division commander at the Battle of Gallipoli. He later fought with distinction on the eastern Anatolian and Palestinian fronts, making a name for himself during World War I.[1] Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the hands of the Allies, and the subsequent plans for its partition, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk led the Turkish national movement in what would become the Turkish War of Independence. Having established a provisional government in Ankara, he defeated the forces sent by the Entente powers. His successful military campaigns led to the liberation of the country and to the establishment of the Republic of Turkey.

As the first President of Turkey, Atatürk embarked upon a major programme of political, economic and cultural reforms. An admirer of the Enlightenment,He sought to transform the ruins of the Ottoman Empire into a modern, democratic, secular, nation-state. The principles of Atatürk’s reforms are often referred to as Kemalism and continue to form the political foundation of the modern Turkish state.

He s personal life

He was born in the Ottoman city of Salonika (Turkish: Selânik; modern-day Thessaloniki in Greece) in the spring of 1881 to Ali Riza Efendi, his father, and Zübeyde Hanim, his mother. Born as Mustafa, his second name Kemal (meaning Perfection or Maturity) was given to him by his mathematics teacher in recognition of his academic excellence.[2] In his early years, his mother encouraged Mustafa to attend a religious school (the Semsi Efendi Mektebi), though a reluctant Mustafa completed only a brief stay there. Then he had a fight with one of his teachers and left home, to enroll into a military junior high school in Selânik (the Selânik Askerî Rüstiyesi) in 1893. In 1896 he enrolled into a military high school (the Manastir Askerî Idadisi) in the Ottoman city of Manastir (today’s Bitola, in the Republic of Macedonia.) In 1899 he enrolled into the War College (the Mekteb-i Harbiye-i Sahane) in Istanbul and graduated in 1902. He later graduated from the War Academy (the Erkân-i Harbiye Mektebi) on 11 January 1905.

Military career

After his graduation in 1905, he was assigned to Damascus as a lieutenant. He joined a small secret revolutionary society of reformist officers called “Motherland and Liberty.” In 1907, he was promoted to the rank of captain and assigned to Manastir. He joined the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP). However, in later years he became known for his opposition to, and frequent criticism of, policies pursued by the CUP leadership. In 1908, the Young Turk Revolution seized power from Abdülhamid II. He played a role in this revolution. In 1910, he took part in the Picardie army maneuvers in France. In 1911, served at the Ministry of War for a short time. Later in 1911, he was posted to the Ottoman province of Trablusgarp (present-day Libya) to oppose the Italian invasion. He returned to capital in October 1912 following the outbreak of the Balkan Wars. During the First Balkan War, he fought against the Bulgarian army at Gallipoli and Bolayir on the coast of Thrace. In 1913, he was appointed military attaché to Sofia and promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1914.

in Gallipoli with his soldiers, 1915The Ottoman Empire entered World War I and engaged with the Allies in the Middle Eastern theatre. Mustafa Kemal was given the task of organizing and commanding the 19th Division attached to the 5th Army during the Battle of Gallipoli. The Gallipoli campaign became a disastrous defeat for the Allies. Mustafa Kemal became the outstanding front-line commander and gained much respect from his former enemies for his chivalry in victory. Following the Battle of Gallipoli, he served in Edirne until the 14 January 1916.
He was assigned to the command of the XVIth Corps of the 2nd Army and sent to the Caucasus Campaign. The massive Russian offensive had reached the Anatolian key cities. On 7 August, Mustafa Kemal rallied his troops and mounted a counteroffensive.[3] Two of his divisions captured not only Bitlis but the equally important town of Mus, greatly upsetting the calculations of the Russian Command.[4] On 7 March 1917, Mustafa Kemal was appointed from the command of the XVI Corps to the overall command of the 2nd Army. The Russian Revolution erupted and the Caucasus front of the Czar’s armies disintegrated.[3] he had already left the region as was assigned to the command of the 7th Army at the Sinai and Palestine Campaign.

He returned to Aleppo on 28 August 1918, and resumed his command. Liman von Sanders had lost the Battle of Megiddo. Nothing stood between General Allenby’s forces and Mustafa Kemal. Concluding that he didn’t have enough men to engage the British forces, Mustafa Kemal retreated towards Jordan to establish a stronger defensive line. He was appointed to the command of Thunder Groups Command (Turkish: Yildirim Ordulari Gurubu), replacing Liman von Sanders. Mustafa Kemal’s position became the base line for the Armistice of Mudros.

Kemal’s last active service to the Ottoman Army was organizing the return of the troops that were left behind the south of his line. At the end of the war, he was 37 years old. Mustafa Kemal returned to an occupied Istanbul on 13 November 1918. Along the established lines of partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, British, Italian, French and Greek forces began to occupy Anatolia. The occupation of Istanbul along with the occupation of Izmir mobilized the establishment of the Turkish national movement and the Turkish War of Independence.
Main article: Atatürk’s leadership of the independence war.

TIME 24 March 1923. He, the title reads ‘Where is a Turk his own master?’Kemal’s active participation in the national resistance movement began with his assignment as a General Inspector to oversee the demobilisation of remaining Ottoman military units and nationalist organizations. On 19 May 1919, he departed from Istanbul to Samsun. The first goal in his mind was the establishment of an organised national resistance movement against the occupying forces. In June 1919, he and his close friends issued the Amasya Circular, which stated that the independence of the country was in danger. The Ottoman government issued a warrant for his arrest, later condemning him to death. He resigned from the Ottoman Army on 8 July.

He called for a national election to establish a new Turkish Parliament that would have its seat in Ankara.[6] On 12 February 1920, the last Ottoman Parliament gathered in Istanbul. This parliament was dissolved by British forces after the declaration of the National Pact (Turkish: Misak-i Milli). Mustafa used this opportunity to establish the “Grand National Assembly of Turkey” (GNA) gathered on 23 April 1920, with his as the speaker of the parliament. On 10 August 1920 Grand Vizier Damat Ferid Pasha signed the Treaty of Sèvres, which finalized the plans for the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire including what Turkish nationals accepted as their heartland. Kemal Insisted on complete independence and the safeguarding of the interests of the Turkish majority on Turkish soil. He persuaded the GNA to gather a National Army. The National Army faced the Allied occupation forces and fought on three fronts: in the Franco-Turkish, Greco-Turkish and Turkish-Armenian wars. After a series of initial battles during Greco-Turkish war, the Greek army advanced as far as the Sakarya River, just eighty kilometers west of the GNA. On 5 August 1921, Mustafa Kemal was promoted to Commander in chief of the forces.[7] The Battle of Sakarya from 23 August to 13 September 1921 ended with the defeat of the Greeks. The Allies, ignoring the extent of Ankara’s successes, hoped to impose a modified version of the Serves treaty as a peace settlement on Ankara. he rejected their proposal. The final battle, the Battle of Dumlupinar, was fought during August and September of 1922. He launched an all-out attack on the Greek lines at Afyonkarahisar.

The Conference of Lausanne began on 21 November 1922. In accordance with the directives of him, Ismet Inönü refused any proposal that would compromise Turkish sovereignty while discussing matters regarding the control of Turkish finances and justice, the Capitulations, the Turkish Straits and the like.[8] On 24 July 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne was signed. Ten weeks after agreement was reached the Allied forces left Istanbul.[9] The final outcome of the independence war was the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey on 29 October 1923.