[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 21100-21101]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            REMEMBERING AND HONORING THE LIFE OF SVEND AUKEN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I rise to mark the death of a good friend 
and of a good friend of America--Svend Auken--who died last month after 
a long struggle with cancer.
  Svend was the first Vice President of the Danish Parliament, the 
Folketing, and he was a political legend in his country. I had the 
opportunity to meet and work closely with Svend on many occasions, most 
recently when he was one of my gracious hosts on a trip to Denmark this 
May.
  Each time, I was impressed by the vitality, the sense of humor and 
the idealism of this man who devoted his life to public service from 
the day he entered politics at the age of 28, right up to his death a 
few weeks ago. Svend was a kind, wise and insightful friend, and I will 
miss him.
  Today, I rise to offer my condolences to his wife, Anne, to his 
children and to other friends and family whom he left behind. I also, 
of course, rise to pay him tribute.
  Svend's country is home to a proud political tradition. It stretches 
from the solidarity Danes showed when they protected their Jewish 
fellow citizens from the onslaught of the Holocaust to the foresight 
Denmark proved by becoming entirely energy independent.
  Svend Auken was a real humanitarian and a visionary political thinker 
who was worthy of his proud heritage. As leader of the Social Democrats 
and as a long-serving minister for the environment and energy, Svend 
left a powerful mark on his country and on Europe, and he became an 
inspiration to leaders around the world who are struggling to confront 
common threats such as global warming.
  As a leading Danish paper wrote, ``The country's landscape, specked 
with the thousands of windmills that have become a symbol of Denmark, 
can be traced back to Auken's efforts.'' Svend deserves credit for his 
country's secure retirement system as well.
  Svend's friendship wasn't just meaningful to me on a personal level; 
the relationships and respect he cultivated on both sides of our 
political aisle helped to cement the powerful friendship between 
America and its key NATO ally, Denmark.
  As a Danish-American myself and as a Member of Congress, I have been 
proud to support and nurture this key alliance. I chair the 
Congressional Friends of Denmark Caucus, along with my friend Howard 
Coble, and I meet frequently with visiting Danish leaders, whose 
inquisitive and analytical

[[Page 21101]]

approach in meetings is always very notable.
  Though Svend is gone, I know that the progress he made for his 
country and the friendship he helped sustain with ours will be among 
his lasting legacies. I also know that he lived a full, committed and 
creative life.
  As Svend said when he announced his decision to continue serving 
despite his cancer, ``The amount of time you have left to live, be it 
short or long, is life, itself, and you shouldn't squander it.'' Svend 
did not squander his life. I believe that Svend died secure in the 
knowledge that he made everything he could of the time he was given, 
and there is no better end than that.
  I pay respect to a friend, a colleague, a great Danish leader, a 
great European leader, a great international citizen--Svend Auken.

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