Turkish President Pays State Visit to Sweden

The President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, has paid the first state visit to Sweden by a Turkish President this week, arriving in Stockholm on Sunday. He was accompanied by his wife, First Lady Hayrüsinna Gül. The visit continued as planned despite the death of Princess Lilian on March 10th.

President Gül and his wife were greeted on Monday morning by King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia and drove in carriages from the Royal Mews to the Palace, where the President and King inspected an honour guard, prior to a private luncheon with other members of the Royal Family. The Swedish and Turkish flags were flown outside the Palace as per custom, however, they were at half-mast at the insistence of President Gül, out of respect for the late Princess.

That afternoon, while the President was holding meetings with members of the Swedish government, Queen Silvia and First Lady Gül attended a lecture hosted by Ernest & Young at Rinkeby Acedemy. The evening’s gala banquet went ahead as planned, with the royal ladies wearing black evenings gowns as part of their mourning attire. Crown Princess Victoria accessorised with a diamond brooch which was given to her by Princess Lilian and Prince Bertil, which she also wore for the luncheon. In the two heads of state’s speeches at the dinner, they both paid tribute to personal aspects of the visit – King Carl Gustaf stated that Princess Lilian would have been the first to agree with the continuation of the visit as planned, while President Gül wished Princess Estelle, “a long and healthy life”, before stating his desire for “long-standing and eternal friendship between our countries and our people.”

On Tuesday March 12th, King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia accompanied President and First Lady Gül to the Museum of Science and Technology, before heading to the Royal Academy of Engineering Sciences. This was followed by a luncheon hosted by the City of Stockholm. The two ladies also visited the facilities inside the Palace which focus on the restoration and preservation of furniture, where they viewed several objects currently being worked on by the facility. In the evening, the Turkish Presidential Couple were hosts at a concert held at Stockholm’s Grand Hotel, where pianists Güher and Süher Pekinel performed.

Yesterday, the Royal and Presidential Couples travelled to Uppsala, where they visited the county’s university and attended a luncheon at Uppsala Castle hosted by the County Governor, Peter Egardt. During the stop at the university, Queen Silvia and First Lady Gül visited the Linneaus Museum, where they were told about the history of specific plants discovered by Carl Linneaus. Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel then farewelled the Presidential Couple at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport.

Filed under Sweden
Tagged Bilateral Relations, Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, President Gül of Turkey, Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Prince Daniel of Sweden, Princess Lilian of Sweden, Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden, State Visit, Turkey.