Ataturk

Peace at Home, Peace in the World

"Mankind is a single body and each nation a part of that body. We must never say 'What does it matter to me if some part of the world is ailing?' If there is such an illness, we must concern ourselves with it as though we were having that illness."

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Economic reforms

Economic reforms included the establishment of many state-owned factories throughout the country for the agriculture, machine making and textile industries.

Many of these grew into successful enterprises and were privatized during the latter part of 20th century.

Atatürk considered the development of a national rail network as another important step for industrialization. In 1927 he established the Turkish State Railways, developing an extensive rail network in a relatively short timespan.

Educational reforms

The educational reforms combined with the opening of People's Houses throughout the country and the active encouragement of people by Atatürk himself with many trips to the countryside teaching the new alphabet. However, "its effect on the struggle against illiteracy was disappointing".[13]

The literacy reform was also supported by strengthening the private publishing sector with a new Law on Copyrights and congresses for discussing the issues of copyright, public education and scientific publishing.
[edit] Unification

Legal reforms

The Ottoman Empire was a religious empire in which each religious community enjoyed a large degree of autonomy (See Millet). Each millet had an internal system of governance based upon its religious law, such as Sharia, Catholic Canon law, or Jewish Halakha.

The leading legal reforms instituted by Mustafa Kemal included a secular constitution (laïcité) with the complete separation of government and religious affairs, the replacement of Islamic courts and Islamic canon law with a secular civil code based on the Swiss model, and a penal code based on that of Italy (1924–37). The reforms also instituted legal equality and full political rights for both sexes December 5, 1934, well before several other European nations.

Social reforms

The Kemalist reforms brought effective social change on education (genuine public education system) and women's rights (genuine level of voting rights), but less effective (less popular) on removing effect of feudal (Turkish: A?al?k), some conditions had religious tones, over public life.

Political reforms

Until the moment the republic was formally proclaimed, the Ottoman Empire was still in existence, with its heritage of religious and dynastic authority. The dynasty was abolished by the Ankara Government, but its traditions and cultural symbols remained active among the people (though less so among the elite). Atatürk's political reforms involved a number of fundamental institutional changes that would see the end of these traditions, and a carefully planned program of political change was implemented to unravel the complex system that had developed over the centuries.[3]

Reforms

(Turkish: Atatürk Devrimleri or Atatürk ?nk?laplar?) were a series of political, legal, cultural, social and economic reforms that were implemented to transform the young Republic of Turkey into a modern, democratic and secular nation-state. They were implemented under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in accordance with Kemalist ideology. The reform movement began with the modernization of the constitution, including the adaptation of European laws and jurisprudence to the needs of the new Republic. This was followed by a thorough secularization and modernization of the administration, with particular focus on the education system. The development of industry was promoted by strategies such as import substitution and the founding of state enterprises and state banks[1]. Central to these reforms were the belief that Turkish society would have to Westernize itself both politically and culturally in order to modernize.

Ataturk-in-brief

Kemal Atatürk (March 12, 1881 - November 10, 1938), Turkish soldier and statesman, was the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey. Some consider him one of the most progressive reformist figures in Turkish history; others, especially many conservative Muslims, remember him as a traitor to the Islamic faith.

Born in Selânik (Thessaloniki) as Mustafa Kemal (later given the title Pasha), he entered the military secondary school in Salonika in 1893 and the military academy at Monastir (now Bitola) in 1895. After playing a minor role in the Balkan Wars of 1912 - 1913, he gained a major victory by repulsing the Allied invasion of Gallipoli in 1915.