Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emre Saral, a faculty member of the Atatürk Institute, was awarded the "Magyar Arany Érdemkereszt (Golden Cross of Hungarian Cross of Merit)" in recognition of his research and dissemination activities revealing contemporary Turkish-Hungarian relations, especially Hungary's role in the early 20th century Turkish history, and his active role in the development of cultural relations between the two countries.
The Cross was presented to him by Viktor Mátis, the Ambassador of Hungary to Ankara, on behalf of Katalin Novák, the President of Hungary, at a ceremony held at the Residence of the Ambassador of Hungary on Friday evening, 13 October 2023. In a short speech at the ceremony, Ambassador Mátis said that Saral has done a lot for the bilateral relations of the two countries and described his family as "the only Turkish family with two orders of merit", referring to his father İsmail Tosun Saral, who was awarded the "Hungarian Knight's Cross of Merit" in 2013. The Ambassador concluded his speech by reminding that there will be an intensive cultural programme between the two countries in 2024, which was declared as the Turkish-Hungarian Mutual Year of Culture. Saral, whose biography was read by Dr Péter Kövecsi-Oláh, Commercial Attaché of Hungary, made a short speech after the presentation of the order and said that he dedicated this achievement to his parents, who celebrated the 50th anniversary of their marriage this year.
