Yılmaz Büyükerşen bids farewell with these words: 'The rest of my life...'

Speaking at the 4th Yunus Emre Honorary Awards ceremony organized by the Mihalıççık Municipality, the former mayor of the Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality, Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Büyükerşen, announced that he has ended his active political life.

The 4th Yunus Emre Honorary Awards were presented to their recipients at the ceremony hosted by the Mihalıççık Municipality. During the event, Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Büyükerşen, who served as the Mayor of Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality for 25 years, was also deemed worthy of an honorary award for his academic work, his approach to municipal governance, and his contributions regarding Yunus Emre.

Taking the podium after receiving his award, Büyükerşen announced in a brief speech that he had left politics. Büyükerşen used the following expressions: "I am announcing that I have retired from politics, and as your professor who shares a love for Atatürk and Yunus Emre, I express my wish to spend the remainder of my life among you with your affection."

Büyükerşen continued his speech as follows:

"As an academic and a citizen who believes in culture, art, and education, I believe that Yunus Emre's human-centered philosophy is a compass we need more than ever today. I would like to sincerely thank our esteemed Mihalıççık Mayor Haydar Çorum, who deemed me worthy of this meaningful award, everyone who contributed to the organization, and you, my dear friends, who share this moment with me here. How happy I am, and in this beautiful moment, I announce to you, my dear fellow citizens, that as your professor who has served you until today as an academic and a local politician, I am from this moment on retiring from politics; as your professor who shares a love for Atatürk and Yunus Emre, I express my wish to spend the remainder of my life among you with your affection."

News Source: 12punto