Turkey is carrying on the path to be a successful country that Ataturk always dreamed of, said Turkish President Abdullah Gul on the 75th anniversary of the death of the Turkish Republic's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on Sunday.
November 10 is of crucial importance to understand Ataturk's vision which opens up Turkey's horizon, he said.
Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ataturk managed to bring together all segments of society and built the Republic of Turkey on a "colorful basis".
He said Ataturk made important reforms to prepare Turkey for a democratic republic.
"Turkey will continue to develop and we will achieve our more challenging goals," Erdogan added.
Turkey has commemorated its national hero, founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who passed away 75 years ago.
Turkish president , prime minister and several other ministers participated in the ceremony which took place at Anitkabir, Ataturk's mausoleum.
Commemorations have taken place throughout Turkey and in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
Daily life and traffic stopped at 9:05 a.m. for two minutes as sirens wailing throughout the country and people observing two minutes of silence out of respect to Ataturk. Flags were flown at half-mast to commemorate the father of the Turks, Ataturk.
Born in 1881 in Thessaloniki, in what was then the Ottoman Empire, Ataturk made his military reputation repelling the Allied invasion in Canakkale in 1915.
Ataturk was a Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, founder of the Republic of Turkey and the first president.
Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the World War I, Ataturk led the Turkish national movement in the Turkish War of Independence. Having established a provisional government in Ankara in 1921, he defeated the forces sent by the Allies. His successful military campaigns led to the liberation of the country and to the establishment of Turkey.
During his presidency, Ataturk embarked upon a program of political, economic, and cultural reforms. An admirer of the Age of Enlightenment, he sought to transform the former Ottoman Empire into a modern, democratic, and secular nation-state.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk died at 9:05 a.m. on November 10, 1938 at the age of 57.
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