Mustapha Kemal (1881-1938), called Atatürk ("the father of the Turks"), was the founder of the Republic of Turkey and its first President. Both in Turkey and abroad, however, his actions continue to stir debate. Was he a visionary statesman or an enlightened despot? MUSTAPHA KEMAL ATATÜRK tells the story of this historic figure with archival footage, newsreels and photos, and discussions with Turkish and Western historians, sociologists and biographers. The film traces his early secular education and his political rise as an army officer, from the birth of the "Young Turks" movement in 1908, through WWI, the Turkish War of Independence, the dethroning of the Sultan and elimination of the Caliphate, and the establishment of the republic in 1923.