Ataturk, Kemal

(1881-1938) Soldier and founder of the republic of Turkey. He helped block the Allied landings at Gallipoli in 1915 and expelled the Greeks (1919-23). As president (1923) and virtual dictator, he modernized Turkey - for example, by abolishing the veil for women and introducing the Latin alphabet. He adopted the name Atatürk (Father of the Turks) in 1934.