Fikriye Hanim

Fikriye Hanım was a Turkish woman who was a relative and lover of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey. She met him when she was a young girl in Thessaloniki, where her family had moved from Larissa, Greece. She developed an emotional attachment to her step cousin, but their relationship was interrupted by his military duties during World War I and the Turkish War of Independence. She followed him to Ankara, where he led the Turkish National Movement, and helped him with domestic affairs at his residence and headquarters. She was known as the "first lady of Çankaya". However, she suffered from jealousy and depression as Atatürk married Latife Uşşaki in 1923. She died in mysterious circumstances, either by shooting herself or being killed by someone else, in 1924. Her death remains a controversial topic in Turkish history.