An Ottoman military career
Born in Ottoman Salonika, now Thessaloniki in Greece, in 1881, Kemal followed a military education and graduated from staff training in Istanbul in 1905. His subsequent postings included Damascus, fighting in Libya and service as military attaché in Sofia.
During the First World War he commanded troops resisting Allied landings at Gallipoli in 1915, and later served on eastern and Syrian fronts. These appointments belonged to his Ottoman career, preceding the republican government.
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Ankara and the republic
Arriving at Samsun in May 1919, Kemal helped organize the Amasya declaration and congresses at Erzurum and Sivas. The national movement developed a political centre at Ankara. The Grand National Assembly opened on 23 April 1920 and elected him speaker the following day.
The sultanate was abolished in 1922. After the Lausanne peace settlement, Ankara became the capital on 13 October 1923. On 29 October the assembly proclaimed the republic and elected Kemal president. These were successive changes in sovereignty and government.
Reform and the presidency
Early republican changes included unified educational administration in 1924, a new civil code in 1926 and adoption of a Latin-based Turkish alphabet in 1928. Constitutional revisions altered the place of religion in the state; women gained national voting and electoral eligibility in 1934.
That year parliament granted him the surname Atatürk. He remained president until his death in Istanbul on 10 November 1938. His remains were initially placed in Ankara's Ethnographical Museum and transferred to Anıtkabir in 1953.