President Ahmet Necdet Sezer visits the school.
Then President Ahmet Necdet Sezer visited the school on Thursday, November 23, 2006, along with his wife Mrs. Semra Sezer. The President’s delegation entered the school building from the gate at 12.35 pm, where the Presidential Seal was in place. The President’s Secretary General, Kemal Nehrozoğlu and his wife, the President’s executive assistant Ambassador Sermet Atacanlı, and the Governor of Istanbul Muammer Güler were in the delegation.
About 900 people, including students, teachers, and school staff welcomed the President and his delegation in the ceremonial courtyard along with the former Principal of the high school and founding President of Galatasaray University, Prof. Yıldızhan Yayla, former Principal and President of the university, Head of the High Education Board (YÖK) Prof. Erdoğan Teziç, and the current President of the University Prof. Duygun Yarsuvat. The President signed the guestbook in the Principal’s Office. He was briefed about the high school and was presented with the Galatasaray seal and a book on the history of Mekteb-i Sultani (Galatasaray Imperial High School).
The visiting delegation then toured the Tevfik Fikret Library, Tevfik Fikret Hall, Abdurrahman Şeref Hall, and the Great Amphitheater before moving on to the dining hall. They ate the traditional Galatasaray Pilaf along with students from every class. After a short stroll in the backyard and visit to the Martyrs’ Monument, the President expressed his content and left the high school at 1:55pm.
A tradition of hosting presidents, which started with Atatürk (1930, 1933) and İsmet İnönü (1943), and continued with Kenan Evren (1982, 1985), Turgut Özal (1992), and Süleyman Demirel (1993, 1998), as well as French Presidents Charles de Gaulle (1968) and François Mitterand (1992), was further extended with a visit from Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
