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The President of the Republic attended the anniversary ceremony of the National University01.12.2004
 The President of the Republic and Mrs. Ingrid Rüütel today attended the ceremonial meeting dedicated to the 85th anniversary of Estonian University in Tartu.
In his greeting address, President Rüütel noted that with the birth of the Republic of Estonia the dream of Estonian clerisy to have an Estonian language national-minded university came true. After its reopening in 1919 Tartu University, following good academic traditions, devoted itself to serve the interests of our society. ''The university has been serving the interests of Estonia ever since'', the Head of the State said. ''Being the flagship of scientific as well as national thought in Estonia, Tartu University follows the course of young Estonia to national prosperity through international science. In addition to being recognised abroad as a reputable science university, we can be proud of Tartu University as a centre of our national culture, science and intellectual life.''
President Rüütel asserted that the greatness of Tartu University consists primarily in its being an Estonian University. ''If the local scientists were not working for the sake of securing the sustainability of Estonia, it would be just a medium size university among many similar ones in the world. At the same time, the achievements of Tartu University reach from development of science language to high technology innovations, and from semiotics to space research, not to mention folklore studies. I am convinced that Tartu University will stay a national university also in future, and will bring together different fields of science'', the President of the Republic said.
President Rüütel thanked the members of the University's academic community for their outstanding contribution to educating Estonian mind and developing world-class level science.
In the afternoon President Rüütel and Mrs. Ingrid Rüütel attended a reception held by Rector of Tartu University Jaak Aaviksoo in the Museum of University History. President Rüütel also met with the President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen and congratulated her on receiving an honorary doctorate from Tartu University.
Public Relations Unit of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, December 1, 2004
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