President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan commemorates Atatürk on 86th anniversary

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the official ceremony at Anıtkabir on the 86th anniversary of the passing of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Türkiye.

The ceremony at Anıtkabir began at 08:45 with the procession of state officials walking along the Lion's Path.

The delegation led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan included Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Numan Kurtulmuş, members of the Presidential Cabinet, Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, Good Party (İYİ Party) leader Müsavat Dervişoğlu, heads of the judiciary, military commanders, political party representatives, bureaucrats, and other state officials. President Erdoğan placed a crescent and star-shaped wreath made of red and white carnations at Atatürk's mausoleum.

At 09:05, the time of Atatürk's passing 86 years ago, a moment of silence was observed, followed by the singing of the National Anthem. During the moment of silence, the Turkish flag on the flagpole was lowered to half-mast. President Erdoğan and the protocol then proceeded to the Misak-ı Milli Tower.

President Erdoğan wrote the following in the Anıtkabir guestbook:

"Dear Atatürk, on the 86th anniversary of your passing to eternity, we once again commemorate you with mercy. We are working with all our strength to elevate, strengthen, and grow the Republic of Türkiye, your legacy, and the legacy of our martyrs, in stability and security despite the crises surrounding us. With the goal of a Great Türkiye and the vision of the 'Century of Türkiye' we, 85 million people united as one heart and one fist, continue our blessed journey towards a brighter future, taking firm steps forward from our glorious history. We will march on without stopping or resting until we build a Türkiye where peace, tranquility, justice, development, and brotherhood prevail in every inch of our homeland. May your soul rest in peace."