Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of modern Turkey is among the greatest statesmen of our century. He is one of the few figures of history that did not abuse his big power. All his life he supported peace with foreign countries and the foundation of a stabile political system in Turkey. He was a businesslike analyst of the international situation, he always tried to strengthen democracy in Turkey.
 Atatürk was born in 1881 in at that time still Turkish Saloniki and grew-up in humble homes, he regarded military as his only chance. At the age of 12 he started as a cadet. His teachers soon discovered his strength of will, his sense of responsibility and other leader's qualities. They sent him to the general academy in 1902. At this place Atatürk developed together with likeminded first revolutionary ideas, which did not hinder him serving the state as a loyal officer. As a winner in the battle of the Dardanelles in 1916 Atatürk still remained a public hero, who leaded his fellow countrymen in a victorious liberation battle, after losing world war I in 1918. Therefore the first freely elected parliament could come together in Ankara on October 29, 1923, with which Atatürk as president enforced his revolutionary program of reforms without much opposition. His devise was Paris instead of Mecca, thereby he wanted to give his people a new cultural - west - identity. From 1925 until 1937 he established European clothes and monogamy, polygamy was abolished. Even the Arabic letters were replaced by the Latin ones. In 1934 he gave women active voting right. In 1934 the Islamic calendar was replaced by the Christian calendar and Sunday was named as new day of rest instead of Friday. In 1937 he even sorted politics out from religion, this was even added to the Constitution. The sentence "Islam is state religion" was already deleted from the Constitution in 1928.
 A law of 1934 gave him the name ATATÜRK (father of Turkish people). When he died on November 10, 1938 at 9.05 a.m. he left a well organised state, which had opened wide to Europe. Even today there is a minute's silence in commemoration of him on November 10, 9.05 a.m. All cars stop and sirens start to howl. In nearly every shop and office there is his picture on the wall and in every park there is his statue. He did a lot for Turkey and the Turkish people give him credit for it.