APresident · 1923 – 1938Independent states
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Founder and first president of the Republic of Türkiye (1881–1938), leader of sweeping reforms including the alphabet, surnames and women's suffrage.
Born in Salonica, Mustafa Kemal won fame at Gallipoli and led the War of Independence in 1919–1922. The Republic was proclaimed on 29 October 1923 and he was elected its first president.
Under him the caliphate was abolished, the Latin alphabet adopted in 1928, and in 1934 the Surname Law passed and women given the vote; parliament gave him the surname Atatürk. He died in Istanbul on 10 November 1938.
Sources
Updated: October 4, 2026