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"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource."
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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Dr. Helmut Kohl
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| Parent | Parent Candidate |
| Contributor | Thomas Walker |
| Post Date | , 12:am |
| Description | President Clinton and Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Remarks at the
Presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
The East Room
2:37 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Secretary Cohen, Mr. Berger, distinguished ambassadors, Senator Roth, Congressman Pickett, other members of the Congress -- retired members of Congress -- present and former members of the Diplomatic Corps; and to our German and American exchange students who are here -- welcome to the White House.
Today it is my privilege to confer America's highest civilian honor on a great statesman of the 20th century, the Federal Republic of Germany's longest-serving Chancellor, Helmut Kohl.
President Kennedy first saw the design for the Medal of Freedom on July 3, 1963, just a week after he had gone to Berlin and challenged a new generation of Germans to forge a future of freedom and unity, of European integration and American partnership. No one did more to fulfill the hopes that President Kennedy expressed on that trip than Helmut Kohl.
Very few non-Americans have received the Medal of Freedom. The last year a foreign leader was honored was 1991, when President Bush presented the award to Margaret Thatcher. That day we celebrated a partnership among nations and leaders that helped to end the Cold War with a victory for freedom.
Today we honor a partnership dedicated to building a 21st century Europe that can preserve the freedom and peace, and find genuine unity for the first time. Today we honor the leader whose values and vision have made that possible.
In 1991, the world was very different. The Berlin Wall had come down, but a profound gulf separated the Eastern half of Europe from its more affluent neighbors to the West. Everyone agreed that something had to be done to bring Europe together, but not everyone had a clear idea of what that something should be.
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