At this very moment, sirens across the country are sounding. People have stopped walking in the street. Cars have stopped in their tracks. At this moment, 71 years ago, at 9:05 am, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the great founder of the Turkish Republic, passed away.
Ataturk was born in 1881 as Mustafa Kemal, in Thessaloniki (Selanik), a former Ottoman city. He served as a military officer during World War I and was a leader in the Turkish War of Independence. He went on to serve as the first prime minister and first president of Turkey. He used this opportunity to put Turkey on a path of political, economic and cultural reforms to transform the former Ottoman Empire into a modern, democratic, and secular state.
He was one of the greatest visionaries the world has known. I highly recommend reading more about Ataturk and his life. Though he was a courageous and valiant soldier, I believe too often his human side is overlooked. I see Ataturk as an individual who realized his own charisma, and the opportunities and responsibilities that come with such a personality and circumstance. He sincerely wanted to see not just the establishment of a modern, democratic and secular nation, but he realized that it is the people who are living in that nation make this possible. He placed great emphasis on education reform, which I also believe is the foundation for a strong nation. In honor of Ataturk today, I'm sharing my favorite photo of him--teaching.
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