ÜLKÜ ADATEPE (1932-2012)

Ülkü's mother, Vasfiye Hanım from Thessaloniki, was adopted and raised by Atatürk's mother, Zübeyde Hanım. Vasfiye Hanım, who came with Zübeyde Hanım to Thessaloniki, then to Istanbul and then to Ankara, stayed with Atatürk's sister Makbule Atadan when Zübeyde Hanım died. Atatürk gave the name "Ülkü" to the baby girl born to Vasfiye Hanım, who got married later. As his ideal grew, so did Ataturk's love for him; He started to take her with him on his country trips. He was very impressed by Atatürk Ülkü's mature behavior and intelligence, especially for his age. Ülkü was five and a half years old when Atatürk died.

She is the daughter of Vasfiye Hanım, the adopted daughter of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's mother, Zübeyde Hanım, and Mehmet Tahsin Çukurluoğlu, a French teacher and station chief. Vasfiye Hanım from Thessaloniki, who was raised by Zübeyde Hanım from a young age, stayed with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's sister Makbule Hanım for a while after Zübeyde Hanım's death, and Atatürk married himself to Mehmet Tahsin Bey, who was the station chief at Gazi Orman Çiftliği.

When he learned that Vasfiye Hanım and Mehmet Bey were going to have children, Atatürk, who wanted to be named Ülkü, whether male or female, had Ülkü taken to Çankaya Mansion when he was 9 months old, and when he got a little older, he started to take him on country tours.

Atatürk is with his adopted daughter Ülkü, whom he loves very much, at the Deniz Villa in Florya. (September 12, 1936)

The famous Turkish alphabet cover, which has been used for years, featured pictures made by İhap Hulusi, showing Atatürk teaching letters to little Ülkü, upon Atatürk's request. Ülkü became the symbol of Atatürk's love for children.
Ülkü was six years old when her spiritual father Atatürk died. He did not complete his education in the period after Atatürk's death.

He married at a young age. He married first lieutenant Fethi Doğançay, the son of Sabiha Gökçen's uncle, another adopted daughter of Atatürk, his second marriage to oil merchant Yeshua Bensusen, and his third marriage to businessman Öke Adatepe.

He had two sons from his first marriage. His second marriage in 1962 caused a sensation because his wife was Jewish. He was living with his wife, Öke Adatepe, in Istanbul.

Ülkü Adatepe, the adopted daughter of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, died in a traffic accident in the Sakarya-Akyazı location of the TEM highway in 2012.