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Front: Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), founder of modern Turkey

His birth name was Mustafa. He attained a military academy where he was given the surname Kemel (the perfect) due to his excellence in mathematics. In 1934 when he ordered all Turks to adopt a surname, he took the name Atatürk. Ata Türk means "father of the Turks" in Turkish.

He joined the Young Turks, a liberal movement that sought to establish a constitutional government for the Ottoman Empire. In 1908 he took part in the successful Young Turk revolution.

He served in Libya (1911-12) and in the Second Balkan War (1913). In World War I he served on the Armenian front and in Palestine. After the Ottomans capitulated to the Allies, Sultan Muhammad VI sent Kemal to E Anatolia where in 1919, Kemal organized the Turkish Nationalist party and began to form an army.

Kemal set up a rival government at Ankara in opposition to the Constantinople government of the Sultan. On Nov. 1, 1922, Kemal proclaimed the abolition of the sultanate. By the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, the European powers recognized the independence and sovereignty of Turkey.

In 1923 Kemal was elected president of the new Turkish republic. He was reelected in 1927, 1931, and 1935.

Back: New Central Bank building in Ankara

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Front: Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), founder of modern Turkey

Back: Children presenting flowers to Atatürk

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Front: Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), founder of modern Turkey

Back: Kizilkale Fortress at Alunya

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Front: Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), founder of modern Turkey

Back: Aerial view of Canakkale Martyrs Monument

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Front: Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), founder of modern Turkey

Back: Atatürk dam in Sanliurfa