The Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 as a modern nation‐state. The years preceding this, 1919 to 1922, are seen by the Turks as the years of their struggle for independence (millî mücadele), led by Mustafa Kemal (1881–1938), later known as Atatürk and the first president of the republic. On October 15–20, 1927, Mustafa Kemal presented his famous six‐day speech (Nutuk) at the General Congress of the Republican Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi), giving his own account of the War of Independence.

Associate Professor Nese Ozden and Dr Richard Dietrich, by using the original text of The Speech written in Ottaman Turkish to control and correct the 1929 English translation of The Great Speech published by K.F. Kohler in the German city of Leipzig. Personal and Place names in the text have been rendered in their modem Turkish forms,and the English of the 1929 version has also been updated in many places in the interest of clarity.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish army officer, revolutionary, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey.