[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 116 (Wednesday, August 17, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 17, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      IN MEMORIAM--MANFRED WOERNER

  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I rise today in praise of Manfred Woerner, 
Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and a true 
friend of the United States, who died on August 13 at the age of 59.
  Manfred Woerner was the first German to hold the highest civilian 
post of NATO. Born in Stuttgart, he won a seat in the German Parliament 
in 1965 and rapidly established himself as a security expert. In 1982, 
Chancellor Helmut Kohl named Mr. Woerner Defense Minister at a time of 
great debate in Germany about the proposed stationing of American 
medium-range nuclear missiles in that country to counter a massive 
Soviet missile build-up.
  Mr. President, this issue was a grave one, which caused mass 
demonstrations in Germany and threatened to split the Atlantic 
alliance. It was largely because of Manfred Woerner's determined 
efforts that the American initiative succeeded. The Atlantic alliance 
survived its most serious crisis, and less than a decade later the West 
had won the cold war over the Soviet Union.
  In 1988, Manfred Woerner succeeded Lord Carrington as NATO Secretary 
General and in doing so became a symbol of democratic Germany's 
ultimate acceptance as a leader of the alliance. In his new position he 
once again proved his far-sightedness, advocating the strengthening of 
NATO's conventional forces and, more recently, calling for a firm 
response to Serbian aggression in the former Yugoslavia.
  Manfred Woerner was a distinguished German politician, a leading 
European statesman, a fine gentleman, and a loyal, steadfast friend of 
the United States of America. He will be sorely missed by this country, 
which is deeply in his debt.

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