Back in Istanbul once again at the end of the war, he and several of his comrades were angered and disheartened by the servile attitude of the Sultan and his government toward the victorious allies who proceeded to occupy the Ottoman capital. He left Istanbul by ship, avoiding allied soldiers who might try to arrest him, and landed at Samsun on May 19, 1919. That date marks the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence. It is also the date Mustafa Kemal later chose as his own birthday when asked to supply it for a biographical article being written for an encyclopedia. At that time he was already the President of the Republic of Turkey.
Every Turkish schoolchild knows the ensuing events by heart.
Taking command of the forces in Anatolia, Mustafa Kemal directed two processes simultaneously. Mustafa Kemal was successful on both fronts, defeating the Greeks and establishing a new government in Anatolia, that of the Grand National Assembly in Ankara. Ultimately, the Grand National Assembly, led by Mustafa Kemal, abolished first the Sultanate and then the Caliphate, proclaming the Republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923. Mustafa Kemal then initiated a program of farreaching reforms that had as its goal the thorough westernization and modernization of Turkey and the Turks. Underlying the reform program was Mustafa Kemal's complete faith in par amentary government and the democratic process.