The President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou at the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle

H.E. the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou honored with her presence the event celebrating 40 years of operation of the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle (1982-2022), which took place on Thursday, October 27, 2022. The President of the Republic was presented by the President of the Foundation for the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle and the Modern History of Macedonia (IMMA), Professor Vasilis K. Gounaris, with a commemorative plaque as a souvenir of her visit to the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle.

The event was introduced by the Director of the IMMA, Ms. Fani Tsatsaia, noting the value of the presence of the President of the Republic’s H.E. on the day when the Museum completes 40 years of contribution to history and culture. The President of IMMA, Professor Vassilis K. Goounaris, referred to the first years of the Museum’s operation and the contribution of the Association of Friends and then of the members of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. “During its forty years of operation, the Museum was transformed three times as an exhibition space, established and operated a research centre, enriched its archival and museum collections, hosted countless temporary exhibitions, offered continuous guided tours and educational games, formed research groups and published important studies and documents”, he said. In his address, the President of the Association “Friends of the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle”, Mr. Dimitrios Kostopoulos, highlighted the importance of the building of the old Consulate General of Greece, which contributed to the preservation of the memory of the Macedonian Struggle. Afterwards, the President of the Republic was given a tour of the permanent exhibition of the Museum by the President of IMMA, Professor Vassilis K. Gounaris, while the Director of the Centre for Research of Macedonian History and Documentation of IMMA, Rev. The Director of the IMMA’s Research and Documentation Centre for Macedonian Studies and History, Mrs. Stavroula Mavrogeni, Professor of the Department of History and Culture, Mrs. Stavroula Mavrogeni, presented the educational programmes of IMMA.

The event was honoured with the presence of the Deputy Minister of Interior, Sector Macedonia – Thrace, Stavros Kalafatis, the Members of Parliament Konstantinos Gioulekas and Dimitris Kouvelas, the Vice-Regional Head of M.E. Thessaloniki Voula Patou, representing the Regional Governor of Central Macedonia, the Mayor of Thessaloniki Konstantinos Zervas, representative of His Holiness the Metropolitan of Thessaloniki, the Commander of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Sotirios Kostakoglou, the Commander of the Naval Command of N.E., Captain Parisis Kanoutos, the Chief of the Naval Command of the Naval Command of the Naval Command of Thessaloniki, the Police Director Efstratios Karantinos, the Rector of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Nikos Papaioannou, the Head of the Greek Liaison Office in Pristina Ambassador Eleni Vakali, the Vice-Regional Governor of Digital Governance Angelos Haristeas, the Deputy Mayor of Education Ioanna Kosmopoulou, Academics, Members of the Board of Directors of IMMA and the Association of Friends of the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle, as well as Presidents of institutions and associations of the city of Thessaloniki.