Parliament Speaker Yıldırım awarded Order of Merit

ANKARA

Parliament Speaker Binali Yıldırım, Turkey’s last prime minister, was awarded the Order of Merit by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a ceremony on July 13.

Erdoğan pinned the medal on former prime minister in a ceremony at the presidential complex in Ankara attended by ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) members and state officials.

“Mr. Binali Yıldırım has a particular place in our hearts with his efforts for our country’s prosperity and development since 2002. The medal we have presented here is just a sign of a gratitude for the sacrifices given for our state and people,” Erdoğan said in a speech he gave in tribute of Yıldırım.

“In our 40 years of friendship, Mr. Yıldırım has never let us down or lost his way like some others. He takes his power and reputation not from his position but his services to the nation,” he added.

After receiving his medal, Yıldırım has thanked Erdoğan for the courtesy.

“As Binali Yıldırım, the son of Bahar and the ‘Cripple’ Dursun of Erzincan’s Refahiye town, it is the greatest happiness for me to have served my country and nation by taking such responsibility along with you,” Yıldırım said.

“No matter what the circumstances will be, the journey we have begun 40 years ago will continue until the end of time. I will continue to walk with you both in good and bad times as your companion down this road,” he added, referring to Erdoğan.

The medal is given by the president’s authority to individuals who have shown “outstanding self-sacrifice, self-devotion, achievement and contribution for the survival of Turkish Republic, the unity of the nation and country, peace, unity and collaboration of the public in Turkey or abroad.”