[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14606-14607]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              REMEMBERING THE HONORABLE STEPHAN M. MINIKES

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I wish to honor the memory of 
Ambassador Stephan Minikes, and send my condolences to his wife Dede 
and their family. Born in Berlin, Germany, and immigrating to the 
United States as a young boy, Stephan exemplified the American spirit 
through a life of hard work and public service. I worked closely with 
Stephan while he served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for 
Security and Cooperation in Europe from 2001 until 2005. During that 
period, he made significant advances in Europe, the Caucasus and 
Central Asia on a wide range of security-related concerns, including 
counterterrorism, arms control, human rights, democratization, and 
economic development.
  Prior to his appointment, Ambassador Minikes practiced law for more 
than 30 years in Washington, DC and New York. He worked in public law 
and policy strategy, while more recently he represented clients in 
national defense, energy, transportation, and international trade. A 
well known member of the Washington political, legal and diplomatic 
communities, Ambassador Minikes combined knowledge of business and 
government from the perspectives of the White House, the U.S. Congress 
and Federal agencies, as well as of the roles of U.S. embassies and 
foreign embassies in Washington, DC.
  Ambassador Minikes was a 1961 graduate of Cornell University and a 
1964 graduate of Yale Law School. He was a member of the bars of the 
District of Columbia, the State of New York, the U.S. Supreme Court and 
various other Federal courts, including the U.S. Court of Military 
Appeals, and a member of the American Bar Association, the District of 
Columbia Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the American 
Society of International Law

[[Page 14607]]

and the Association of the Bar of the city of New York.
  Along with these bar association memberships and his impressive 
educational background, Stephan was a wonderful public servant 
throughout his lifetime. He lectured to students around the world on 
issues ranging from foreign policy to national defense, traveled to 
more than 100 countries representing the U.S. Government and private 
interests, served as the director of the Washington Opera at the 
Kennedy Center, was a member of the Executive Committee of the Yale Law 
School and a member of the board of directors of the American Council 
on Germany.
  Ambassador Minikes was devoted not only to his country, the promotion 
of human rights and the improvement of global policies, but to his 
family. Colleagues, please join me in honoring and remembering of 
Ambassador Stephan Minikes, a true leader and patriot.

                          ____________________