Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was a Turkish military officer and statesman who served as the first President of Turkey. He led the Turkish War of Independence against occupying Allied forces after World War I and established the Republic of Turkey in 1923. Atatürk implemented extensive political, legal, and cultural reforms to modernize Turkey and transform it into a secular, industrial nation-state. He served as President until his death in 1938, and is regarded as the founder of modern Turkey.