[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 114 (Tuesday, September 13, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1831-E1832]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO AMBASSADOR ULRIK FEDERSPIEL

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS-

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 13, 2005

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me in 
commending and bidding farewell to Ambassador Ulrik Federspiel, 
Denmark's Ambassador to the United States since May 2000. Throughout 
his remarkable career, Ambassador Federspiel has worked tirelessly to 
strengthen the already close relationship between the United States and 
Denmark. Indeed, the Danes are fortunate to have had such an 
illustrious representative in Washington, and the United States has had 
no better friend and ally in the Diplomatic Corps here in Washington 
than Ambassador Federspiel.
  Mr. Federspiel began his career in the Danish Foreign Service in 1971 
and was immediately assigned to the prestigious European Community 
office within the Foreign Ministry. As we all know, Denmark became a 
member of the EC in 1973.
  His outstanding contributions on EC matters earned him the post in 
London as First Secretary of Political Affairs from 1973 to 1977. 
During this time he worked in cooperation with several African states 
in the process of democratizing countries including Zimbabwe, Angola 
and Namibia. Mr. Federspiel was especially active in supporting the 
anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. As a result, he was personally 
invited to the inauguration of President Nelson Mandela in 1993 and 
became a consultant to the modern integrated South African 
administration.
  In 1981, Ambassador Federspiel returned to Copenhagen to become 
Special Assistant to the Permanent Secretary of State for Foreign 
Affairs, a post he held until he arrived in Washington to serve as 
Deputy Chief of Mission at the Danish Embassy in 1984. He quickly 
developed a reputation in Washington as a quick study with an imposing 
intellect combined with a personable, friendly demeanor. Ambassador 
Federspiel came to understand that not only does Denmark have a 
critical role to play in European matters, but, for a small country, 
Denmark could ``punch above its weight'' on transatlantic economic and 
political issues.
  As State Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 1991-93, Ulrik Federspiel 
worked to support independence for the Baltic states, who were emerging 
from the dark years of Soviet occupation. Denmark was the first country 
in the world to recognize the three former Soviet countries of Estonia, 
Latvia and Lithuania.
  From 1993 to 1997 Ambassador Federspiel's outstanding record brought 
the notice of the most senior members of the Danish government and he 
was asked to serve as Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister. At the 
European Union summit in June 1993 under the Danish presidency, Mr. 
Federspiel drafted the portion of the Copenhagen Criteria that set 
standards for EU membership. Ambassador Federspiel became a staunch 
proponent of NATO expansion and has since taken a leading role in the 
process. Among his other accomplishments while in the Prime Minister's 
Office, he played an important role in the Danish decision to play an 
active part in Bosnia, having the largest contingency of ground troops 
there per capita, and the only country to have heavy armor, namely ten 
tanks.
  Mr. Speaker, upon arriving in the United States in 2000, Ambassador 
Federspiel became actively engaged in solving trade disputes between 
the EU, Denmark and the United States. His diplomatic skills were 
effective in resolving high-profile trade disputes, including the 
carousel sanctions and the import ban on pork. Mutually beneficial 
trade has been expanded between the U.S. and Denmark through close 
cooperation between the former U.S. Ambassador in Copenhagen Richard N. 
Swett and Ulrik Federspiel.
  Mr. Speaker, Ambassador Federspiel has brought his dynamism and 
passion to many political and humanitarian issues. Since completing his 
military service in the Royal Danish Navy in Greenland in 1962-63, he 
has taken a keen interest in Greenland and its population. In 1984, 
when he became Deputy Chief of Mission to the Danish Embassy in 
Washington, D.C., the relationship between Greenland, the United States 
and Denmark became one of his priorities. The Ambassador has played an 
instrumental role in furthering the interests of the Home Rule 
Government and that of the Danish realm and has worked in close 
cooperation with the U.S. government, especially on Thule Air Base. He 
was deeply involved in the 2002-2004 negotiations leading to the so-
called Igaliku-agreement between the U.S., Greenland and Denmark that 
paved the way for upgrading the Thule radar to be used in the Missile 
Defense System. The island and the base are strategic elements for 
defense and security preparedness for both the U.S. and Europe.
  Ambassador Federspiel is also an accomplished academic. He graduated 
from the University of Aarhus in political science in 1970 and 
completed a year of post-graduate studies at the University of 
Pennsylvania, earning an MA in 1971. He has been a visiting lecturer at 
George Washington University and the University of Copenhagen, and he 
also has served on the governing board of the University of Copenhagen.
  His interest in supporting academic excellence has continued. He is 
an Honorary Trustee of the Crown Prince Frederick Fund for Harvard 
University that supports two scholarships annually for exemplary Danish 
university students. Ambassador Federspiel currently sits on the 
advisory board of Humanity in Action (HIA), a unique educational 
program between Denmark, the United States, the Netherlands, Germany 
and France. The HIA program provides the opportunity for outstanding 
university students to intensively study human rights and democratic 
values, as well as to hold an internship with the U.S. Congress.
  Ambassador Federspiel's commitment to working for others is 
undoubtedly a result of his and his family's experiences growing up in 
war-torn Europe. During the Nazi occupation of Denmark, Ambassador 
Federspiel's father, Per Federspiel, was imprisoned for a year due to 
his involvement in the rescue of the Jews in October 1943. Needless to 
say, Ambassador Federspiel has proven himself to be a strong and 
consistent supporter of the State of Israel.
  After the horrible events of September 11th, Ambassador Federspiel 
and the Danish people were among the first to support the American 
people and the cause of freedom. As a

[[Page E1832]]

NATO member, Denmark is one of the strongest supporters of the United 
States in its campaign against terrorism. It still has soldiers and its 
air force present in Afghanistan. From day one in 2003 Denmark took 
part in the coalition's efforts in Iraq with combat troops. It still 
has 531 combat troops and now has an embassy and an Ambassador in 
Baghdad. Ambassador Federspiel has worked tirelessly with the Danish 
government's major role in the reconstruction of Iraq.
  Ambassador Federspiel has also been very much involved in other areas 
of the Middle East. During the Danish EU presidency in 2002, Denmark 
worked closely with the EU in drafting the Road Map for peace in the 
Arab-Israeli dispute. Furthermore, since early 2003 Ambassador 
Federspiel has worked to promote his government's ideas about reform, 
democracy and security in the Broader Middle East and North Africa 
(BMENA). Denmark and the U.S. are now seen as the parents of this idea 
that is generally accepted by the EU, G8 and BMENA countries.
  He has seen the importance in strengthening inter-parliamentarian 
relations and has helped to build and support the Congressional Friends 
of Denmark. As a result of this important work, the NATO Parliamentary 
Assembly U.S. House of Representatives delegation will participate in 
bilateral meetings with the Danish parliament in November.
  Ambassador Federspiel has also strengthened the economic relations 
between the U.S. and Denmark, and direct investments in both countries 
have increased over the last years. In the transatlantic dispute over 
lifting the EU's weapon embargo towards China, Ambassador Federspiel 
played a crucial role in postponing the lifting of the embargo 
indefinitely. Denmark is a consistent defender of the human rights of 
the Chinese people.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Ambassador 
Federspiel for his outstanding service and uncompromising dedication to 
furthering the friendship between our two great countries, and to wish 
him well in his future endeavors.

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