Turkey emerged as a modern nation under Mustafa Kamal Pasha who is regarded as the father of Modern Turkey. He was born in 1891 in an ordinary family and his father was a government servant. He lost his father when he was only nine years of age and grew up as a brave and courageous youth.
He possessed sharp intelligence which won him the love and admiration of his teachers. He received his education at the government school of Constantinople and grew up as a youth with revolutionary bent of mind.
He was greatly impressed by the writings of Rousseau and Voltaire and came to believe that Turkey could be put on path of progress only through revolutionary changes. He was imprisoned for his revolutionary ideas by the Government of Turkey.
However, in 1911-12 he was set free and took active part in the Balkan War as a military officer. He demonstrated his remarkable qualities during the First World War and won the admiration of people by scoring victory over the British at the battle of Gallipoli.