ABSTRACT
Early Life Kemal Atatiirk, the "father of Turkey," was born in Salonika, a major port in what was then the Ottoman province of Macedonia (part of modern-day Greece). His parents, Ali Riza and his wife Zubeyde, gave him the name Mustafa in honor of an older brother who had died in infancy. Mustafa's early years were marked by his family's declining fortunes. His father lost all his money in a salt venture. When his application for readmission to the civil service was rejected, he took to drinking heavily and died of tuberculosis, leaving behind nothing for Zubeyde and her family. She was forced to sell the house and move to her brother's farm outside of Salonika. During his years in the country, Mustafa developed into a strong and muscular young man. Later in life he would suffer from a variety of illnesses, some, in part, brought about by his own problems with alcohol.
