The Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day, or simply Ataturk Commemoration (Ataturk'u Anma) or Youth and Sports Day (Genclik ve Spor Bayramı), is an annual Turkish national holiday celebrated on May 19 to memorialize the start of the Turkish War of Independence May 19, 1919 is the day Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, then Mustafa Kemal, who would become independent Turkey's first president, landed on the main peninsula of Turkey to begin leadership of the liberation effort In early 1920, Kemal convened the first Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara, and by 1922 all of Anatolia was freed from foreign rule The independent Republic of Turkey was declared a year later During the course of his term as president, Ataturk himself proclaimed May 19 as Youth and Sports DayIn the aftermath of Ataturk monumental legacy (a personality cult developed after his early death, see Kemal Ataturk Legacy for more details) the day serves to honor the country's founder