[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 163 (Tuesday, September 21, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1001]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  REMEMBERING DIPLOMAT GEORGE S. VEST

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 21, 2021

  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember and praise the 
contributions George S. Vest made to U.S. foreign policy. Vest had a 
long career as a U.S. diplomat during the Cold War. He died on August 
24 at the age of 102.
  Among Ambassador Vest's accomplishments was representing the United 
States while initiating the 35-country multilateral diplomatic process 
that led to the signing of the Helsinki Final Act in August 1975. This 
process continues to this day as the Organization for Security and 
Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, based largely in Vienna with 57 
participating countries. History records the U.S. approach to those 
negotiations, a Soviet initiative, in late 1972 and 1973, as one of 
damage control, but Vest, his team and his successors did better than 
that. Working with our friends and allies in Europe, and engaging our 
Soviet and Warsaw Pact adversaries directly, they laid the groundwork 
for overcoming the East-West divide with a direct and frank dialogue 
based on a comprehensive definition of security that included respect 
for human rights and fundamental freedoms. At the time, addressing 
human rights issues in other countries was something diplomats hoped to 
avoid; over time it became recognized as essential to their security 
and developing relations. The negotiations also produced confidence-
building measures designed to lessen the risk of accidental war during 
a time of heightened tensions.
  Although neither Vest nor most of his fellow diplomats may have 
foreseen its potential value, their work eventually helped bring the 
Cold War to a peaceful end 30 years ago, and the OSCE continues to 
serve as a forum for addressing tension and instability in Europe to 
this day.
  Even in the darker days of the Cold War, this diplomatic process 
showed many courageous human rights advocates--private citizens--that 
they were not alone. It gave them the hope to keep fighting for a 
better world. As long as it remains true to its original Helsinki 
principles, it still does, and always will.
  As the Co-Chairman of the United States Commission on Security and 
Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), better known as the Helsinki Commission, 
I believe it is important that we recognize George Vest's early 
efforts. The U.S. Helsinki Commission was founded in 1976 and has since 
helped to ensure that the multilateral diplomatic process Vest started 
reflects not only U.S. interests but those of any country--indeed any 
person--who values freedom and democracy. As the elections just held in 
Russia demonstrate, work still remains.
  George Vest was a combat veteran of World War II and later served in 
various diplomatic positions beyond those related to Helsinki, 
including as advisor to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), 
the State Department's liaison to the Defense Department, spokesman for 
the State Department Under Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, 
assistant secretary of state for European affairs, and U.S. ambassador 
to the European Union. Vest ended his career at the State Department as 
director general of the Foreign Service, recruiting and selecting 
future American diplomats.
  Our debt to this fine public servant, and his legacy of promoting 
peace over decades, is boundless. I thank his living sons, George S. 
Vest IV and Henry Vest, for their father's historic service to our 
country.

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