Ataturk means father of Turkey. Mustafa Kemal was given the name since, like George Washington in the United States, Attaturk is considered the father of modern Turkiye.

When he was born, Turkey (and it was Turkey then) was still part of the Ottoman Empire. Early in his youth, he was arrested for protesting against the Sultan. He joined the Army and was involved in the defense of Gallipoli.

In 1922, the Turkish National Movement, which he directed, overthrew the Ottomans. (They, by the way, ruled for several hundred years.) In 1923, Kamal was given the name Ataturk and appointed President. He ruled until 1938, the year of his death.

He is credited with making Turkiye a secular country, passing many reforms. Religion was pushed back. When one is in the country, the call to prayer is still heard from the minarets but prayer five times a day is not required. The cursive Arabic alphabet was abandoned in favor of the Roman. (This helps an English speaker since you quickly recognize and understand written words.) He opened thousands of schools, and women were given equal rights. He is rightly called the father of the modern Turkiye. Visiting Istanbul is like visiting any large, modern, cosmopolitan city with McDonalds, multi-ethnic restaurants, and many different languages heard in the street.

However, he was a dictator. He governed under one party rule. During the overthrow of the caliphate, the Greeks and Armenians were expelled and many Armenians were massacred. The current relationship with Syria and especially Iran is poor because of the country’s secularism. And Turkiye is an ally of the United States.