Sovereignty is not given it is taken Egemenlik
- Slides: 31
Sovereignty is not given, it is taken. © Egemenlik verilmez, alınır. MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATÜRK NURCAN AKALTUN
Atatürk's Life / The Founder of Turkey
• He was born in 1881 (probably in the spring) in Salonika, then an Ottoman city, now in Greece. His father Ali Rıza, a customs official turned lumber merchant, died when Mustafa was still a boy.
• His mother Zübeyde, a devout and strongwilled woman, raised him and his sister. First enrolled in a traditional religious school, he soon switched to a modern school. Zübeyde Hanım (his sister)Makbule Hanım
• In 1893, he entered a military high school where his mathematics teacher gave him the second name Kemâl (meaning perfection) in recognition of young Mustafa's superior achievement. He was thereafter known as Mustafa Kemâl.
• In 1905, Mustafa Kemal graduated from the War Academy in Istanbul with the rank of Staff Captain. Posted in Damascus, he started with several colleagues, a clandestine society called "Homeland Freedom" to fight against the Sultan's despotism.
• In 1908 he helped the group of officers who toppled the Sultan. Mustafa Kemal's career flourished as he won his heroism in the far corners of the Ottoman Empire, including Albania and Tripoli. He also briefly served as a staff officer in Salonika and Istanbul and as a military attaché in Sofia.
• In 1915, when Dardanelles campaign was launched, Colonel Mustafa Kemal became a national hero by winning successive victories and finally repelling the invaders.
Promoted to general in 1916, at age 35, he liberated two major provinces in eastern Turkey that year.
• In the next two years, he served as commander of several Ottoman armies in Palestine, Aleppo, and elsewhere, achieving another major victory by stopping the enemy advance at Aleppo.
• On May 19, 1919, Mustafa Kemal Pasha landed in the Black Sea port of Samsun to start the War of Independence.
In defiance of the Sultan's government, he rallied a liberation army in Anatolia and convened the Congress of Erzurum and Sivas which established the basis for the new national effort under his leadership.
• On April 23, 1920, the Grand National Assembly was inaugurated. Mustafa Kemal Pasha was elected to its Presidency. Fighting on many fronts, he led his forces to victory against rebels and invading armies.
• Following the Turkish triumph at the two major battles at Inonu in Western Turkey, the Grand National Assembly conferred on Mustafa Kemal Pasha the title of Commander-in-Chief with the rank of Marshal.
• At the end of August 1922, the Turkish armies won their ultimate victory. Within a few weeks, the Turkish mainland was completely liberated, the armistice signed, and the rule of the Ottoman dynasty abolished.
• In July 1923, the national government signed the Lausanne Treaty with Great Britain, France, Greece, Italy, and others. In mid-October, Ankara became the capital of the new Turkish State.
• On October 29, the Republic was proclaimed and Mustafa Kemal Pasha was unanimously elected President of the Republic.
• Atatürk married Latife Uşaklıgil in early 1923. The marriage ended in divorce in 1925. The account of Atatürk's fifteen year Presidency is a saga of dramatic modernization.
• With indefatigable determination, he created a new political and legal system, abolished the Caliphate and made both government and education secular, gave equal rights to women, changed the alphabet and the attire, and advanced the arts and the sciences, agriculture and industry.
• Atatürk took frequent trips around the country and inspected locally the works undertaken by the state, giving directives where problems were faced. As president he was host to visiting foreign presidents, prime ministers and ministers.
• Atatürk led a very simple private life. He married Latife Hanım on 29 January 1923. They took many trips to different parts of the country together. This marriage lasted until 5 August 1925.
• A great lover of children he adopted girls named Afet (İnan), Sabiha (Gökçen), Ülkü, Nebile, Rukiye and Zehra and a shepherd boy named Mustafa. He also took two boys called Abdurrahim and İhsan under his protection. He provided for the futures of these children who survived.
• He enjoyed books and music as well as dancing, horse riding and swimming. He was extremely interested in Zeybek dances, wrestling and the Rumelia folk songs.
• Games of billards and backgammon gave him great pleasure. He valued his horse Sakarya and his dog Fox.
• He had a rich library. He used to invite statesmen, scholars and artists to dinners where the problems of the country were discussed
• He knew French and German. He was particular about his appearance and enjoyed dressing well. He was also a lover of nature. He used to frequent the Atatürk Forest Farm and join in the work.
• In 1934, when the surname law was adopted, the national parliament gave him the name "Atatürk" (Father of the Turks).
• Atatürk died on 10 November 1938 at 9. 05 A. M at Dolmabahçe Palace, defeated by the liver ailment he was suffering from. He was taken to his temporary place of rest at the Ethnography Museum in Ankara on 21 November 1938
• . When the mausoleum was completed, he was taken to his permanent rest place with a grand ceremony on 10 November 1953.
• There are two Mustafa Kemals; one is flesh-and-bone Mustafa Kemal who now stands before you and will pass away. The other one is you, all of you who will go to the far corners of our land to speand the ideals which must be defended with your lives if necessary. I stand for the nation's dreams, and my life's work is to make them come true. İki Mustafa Kemal vardır: Biri ben, et ve kemik, geçici Mustafa Kemal. . . İkinci Mustafa Kemal, onu "ben" kelimesiyle ifade edemem; o, ben değil, bizdir! O, memleketin her köşesinde yeni fikir, yeni hayat ve büyük ülkü için uğraşan aydın ve savaşçı bir topluluktur Ben, onların rüyasını temsil ediyorum. Benim girişimlerim, onların özlemini çektikleri şeyleri tatmin içindir. O Mustafa Kemal sizsiniz, hepinizsiniz. Geçici olmayan, yaşaması ve başarılı olması gereken Mustafa Kemal odur!
NURCAN AKALTUN
