Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was the founder and first president of Turkey who led the country's transformation into a modern republic after World War I. As a military officer, he defended Turkey against Allied invaders and then launched the Turkish War of Independence. He went on to abolish the Ottoman sultanate and caliphate, establish a secular democratic republic, and implement sweeping political and social reforms that modernized Turkey and advanced the rights of women. Atatürk remains a towering figure in Turkish history for his role in founding the republic and transforming the nation.