Born in 1881, the founder of modern Turkey is considered by his worshipers as a brave, self-sacrificing man who risked his life for the nation and contributed markedly to the Turkish independence war. Atatürk himself explicitly addressed the Turkish people and called on them to preserve and defend forever Turkish independence and the major secular values of the Turkish Republic. For many people, even today so many years after his death, love of Atatürk is equated with love of one’s parents and the two are sometimes mentioned in the same breath in schools. His leadership tells us a lot about the paternalistic role of educational leaders and its impact on the relationship they are expected to develop with teachers, students, and stakeholders. The chapter analyzes the meanings of paternalism and its possible characteristics in educational leadership.