[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 103 (Wednesday, July 11, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H4778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  IN MEMORY OF MAERSK McKINNEY MOLLER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Farenthold). The Chair recognizes the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, I stand today to honor the legacy and 
achievements of one of the greatest friends America has ever known, Mr. 
Maersk McKinney Moller, who died recently at the age of 98 in his home 
country of Denmark. Mr. Moller, whom I've known personally for more 
than 2 decades, was a Dane and an American by virtue of his American 
mother, a loyal husband, a doting father, a brilliant businessman, and 
a leading figure in the development of the modern globalized 
marketplace.
  I initially met Mr. Moller, Mr. Speaker, in his Copenhagen office. We 
spoke for 35 to 40 minutes, and it became apparent to me that I was in 
the presence of a truly great man.
  Mr. Moller loved America. It is no coincidence that his company's 
U.S. flag business unit, Maersk Line, Limited, owns and operates the 
largest U.S. flag fleet of vessels serving our military today. In fact, 
these U.S. flag vessels employ more American mariners and have 
delivered more of the critical material to supply U.S. troops in the 
Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts than any other carrier. And the same is 
true of humanitarian aid and every other category of government-
impelled cargo carried by U.S. flag commercial vessels. Maersk McKinney 
Moller believed in the mission and basic goodness of America, and he 
demonstrated that belief throughout his life.
  Mr. Moller, Mr. Speaker, was born in Denmark in 1913. He grew up in 
the shipping industry that his father, Arnold Peter Moller, had started 
in 1904. In 1940, after the occupation of Denmark by Nazi troops, all 
the company's vessels in international waters were ordered to neutral 
ports and a third of the fleet sought refuge in ports controlled by the 
United States.

                              {time}  1010

  Mr. Moller traveled to New York soon after the occupation and ran the 
operations from there through 1947.
  Allied forces requisitioned the Maersk fleet and most were 
subsequently lost to German U-boats in the most devastating loss of 
merchant mariner life in history. At the conclusion of the war, Mr. 
Moller returned to Denmark and continued building a global business 
empire, becoming CEO of the group in 1965.
  In 1991, Mr. Moller wrote a letter to then-U.S. Secretary of Defense 
Dick Cheney highlighting the longstanding connections between America 
and Maersk. Among other matters in the letter, Mr. Moller wrote:

       Maersk is, and has always been, a strong advocate for 
     uninhibited free trade and the principles of freedom 
     consistently enunciated by the United States and Denmark. Our 
     entire organization, and especially Maersk Line, Limited will 
     be ready to serve anytime should that be desired.

  Mr. Moller stepped down as CEO in 1993, but remained chairman of the 
AP Moller Group until 2003. Even through the last few months of his 
life, however, Mr. Moller went to work every day, walking up five 
flights of stairs to his office.
  Through his vision and leadership, Mr. Moller built the largest 
container shipping company in the world, but never abandoned his love 
and appreciation for the United States and its people. Over 70 years, 
he personally cultivated and sustained a valuable partnership with the 
United States, one that continues to support and advance our commercial 
and national security interests around the world.
  Finally, Mr. Moller was a citizen of Denmark, indeed, the world; but 
he will always have a special place of respect, admiration, and 
appreciation from the people and the Government of the United States.

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