President Erdoğan’s daughter to marry in Istanbul on May 14

Toygun Atilla – ISTANBUL

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s daughter Sümeyye Erdoğan is set to marry defense industrialist engineer Selçuk Bayraktar at a ceremony that will include Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu as one of the witnesses and 6,000 guests on May 14. 

The wedding, which will take place under extensive security measures, will be held at the Yahya Kemal Beyatlı Performing Arts Center in Istanbul’s Küçükçekmece district.

Invitations have been sent out to guests, including a number of notable Turkish politicians including former President Abdullah Gül, cabinet members, and Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputies.

On the evening of May 7, a traditional henna night was held for Erdoğan at the Tarabya Mansion, a presidential residence by Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait. 

The couple were engaged at a low-key gathering at the same mansion on March 20.

Turkish media had first reported early in March that Erdoğan and Bayraktar had decided to marry.

The president’s daughter studied sociology and politics at Indiana University in the United States before earning a master’s degree from the London School of Economics. 

Bayraktar graduated from Istanbul Technical University in 2002. He holds master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also holds a PhD from the Georgia Institute of Technology.