[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 27 (Wednesday, March 5, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E387]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                COMMEMORATION OF AMBASSADOR SAMUEL WISE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 5, 1997

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, on January 21, 1997, the United States lost 
one of its finest public servants, Ambassador Samuel G. Wise. In his 20 
years of service in the State Department and the Commission on Security 
and Cooperation in Europe, Ambassador Wise sought to advance the 
precious principle of democracy. His diplomatic skills, recognized 
worldwide, helped forge an international consensus on human rights and 
an effective process to hold states accountable to the Helsinki 
principles. Through his work, many lives were saved and democracy was 
strengthened.
  I first met Sam soon after being appointed to the Helsinki Commission 
in 1989. I did not know him very well, but his reputation was one of a 
kind with a good heart for people. He did not seek the limelight, but 
instead labored quietly and nobly behind the scenes. His work will live 
on in the effective organization he helped create and the human rights 
standards he helped strengthen. He will be sorely missed.
  My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Mary, and his family 
during this time of loss.

                          ____________________