During the 1930s, Turkey-Iraq relations were at their most cordial, with both the Hashemite King Ghazi (1912–1939) of Iraq and Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938), the founder of the modern Turkish state and its leader since 1923, continuing to maintain close relations with the British. From the independence of Iraq in 1932 to the republican revolution in 1958, the most significant events in Iraq–Turkey relations were the regional pacts: the Saadabad Pact and the Baghdad Pact. Turkey had two defence-military pacts between Middle Eastern countries in this era, and Iraq was the only Arab country in both of the pacts. In light of this knowledge it can be claimed that during this era Turkey and Iraq had a close, cooperative relationship.