A GENIUS WHO DEDICATED HIMSELF TO HIS NATION

Lloyd George said, "A genius comes once in a hundred years; how could I have known that he
would come out of Asia Minor?" Although the claim that this was directed at a specific person
has been weak, human history has witnessed a loyal genius who devoted himself to his nation.
To elaborate, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded the Republic of Turkey and aimed to modernize
Turkish society. In other words, his entire effort was to develop his country with various
innovations and reforms. The meaning of his surname is 'Father of the Turks'. As a father, he
inherited the republic to his children.
He had a long and active military career before entering politics. After graduating from Military
Academy in Istanbul, he served in the army. He played an important role in many wars and
made a name for himself as a soldier. In 1915, he became a hero by defending the Dardanelles
against the Allies. Later, he crowned his heroism with the rank of colonel. With these superior
abilities, he was promoted to general at the age of 35. Atatürk resigned from the Ottoman Army
and he played a key role in Turkish War of Independence (1919-1922). He started a nationalist
revolution and successfully fought off European armies that had carved up and occupied Turkey
after WWI. He had a full career as a soldier, but he didn't think it was enough for his country.
He was a visionary and revolutionary leader who swiftly modernized Turkey after becoming its
first president in 1923. Atatürk put into effect six principles. Those are republicanism,
nationalism, populism, laicism, statism and reformism. The aim of those principles is for the
people to become a completely modern, civilized formation. As a president, Mustafa Kemal's
reforms secularized schools and encouraged education for girls. He also asked women to work
to build Turkey's economy. Thanks to him, women in Turkey were granted the right to vote and
be elected before many European countries thus, this became an inspiration to women in other
countries. As examples of his innovations in other areas, he replaced Islamic courts with secular
civil law and replaced Arabic script with a Latin-based Turkish alphabet. With the Alphabet
Revolution, he aimed to make it easier to learn to read and write and to raise the level of
education and culture. He had actually even written a few books. The best known of them is the
Speech and he wrote it for future generations. He also encouraged a more western style of
dressing by enacting the Hat Reform.
Atatürk died on November 10, 1938, aged 57 years old. His death at a young age is the
unfortunate consequence of his lifelong devotion to his country. Apart from this, he left values
​and gifts to his country that will be remembered forever. He remains a revered figure in Turkey.
His legacy is seen throughout Turkish life today. Atatürk is everywhere in this working land.