Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

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Lore & Background

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was born in Salonica in the Ottoman Empire. He led the Turkish National Movement from 1919 to 1922 in the Turkish War of Independence, uniting the Turkish Muslim majority and expelling foreign forces occupying what the Turkish National Movement considered to be the Turkish homeland. On 1 November 1922, the Ottoman Sultanate was abolished by the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and Sultan Mehmed VI departed the country. The Republic of Turkey was proclaimed on 29 October 1923. The Ottoman Caliphate, held by the Ottomans since 1517, was abolished in 1924. The reforms included abolishing the caliphate, curtailing religion, replacing the semi-secular Mecelle with a fully secular civil code based on the Swiss Civil Code, banning the fez, establishing state-owned enterprises, nationalising foreign industrial assets, implementing a five-year plan, opening thousands of schools, and introducing the Latin-based Turkish alphabet. Turkish women received equal civil and political rights during his presidency. The literacy rate within the Republic of Turkey rose from 9% to 33% in only 10 years.

Reader's Guide

Atatürk's reforms were a series of political, legal, religious, cultural, social, and economic policy changes designed to transform the new Republic of Turkey into a secular, modern nation-state. Central to the reforms was the belief that Turkish society had to modernize, meaning widespread reform affecting politics, economics, social, educational, and legal spheres. The reforms began with modernizing the constitution, including enacting the new Constitution of 1924 to replace the Constitution of 1921, and adapting European laws. By 1928, when the last part of Atatürk's reforms removed the reference to Islam in the Constitution, Turkey became a secular and democratic republic that derives its sovereignty from the people. The basic nature of the Republic is laïcité, social equality, equality before law, and the indivisibility of the Republic and of the Turkish Nation. The principal political entity, the Republican People's Party (CHP), ruled Turkey as a one-party state from 1923 to 1945. Following Atatürk's death in 1938, his successor İsmet İnönü took over leadership and integrated further Kemalist reforms, though work was stranded by World War II. The CHP eventually lost the elections to the Democratic Party in 1950, putting an end to the Turkish Revolution.

Did You Know?

• The literacy rate within the Republic of Turkey rose from 9% to 33% in only 10 years following Atatürk's reforms.
• The Ottoman Caliphate, held by the Ottomans since 1517, was abolished in 1924 as part of the reforms.
• The Republic of Turkey was proclaimed on 29 October 1923 by the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
• The reforms included replacing the semi-secular Mecelle with a fully secular civil code based on the Swiss Civil Code.
• The CHP ruled Turkey as a one-party state from 1923 to 1945, with several exceptions of attempts for a multi-party democracy.