[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
[June 8, 1999]
[Pages 903-904]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the State Dinner Honoring President Arpad Goncz of Hungary
June 8, 1999

    Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the White House. And a special 
welcome to President and Mrs. Goncz, 
members of the Hungarian delegation.
    Exactly 150 years ago, in 1849, a young Congressman from Illinois, 
serving his first and only term in the U.S. House of Representatives, 
offered a resolution supporting the Hungarian people's struggle for 
independence and democracy. At that time, the leader of the Hungarian 
freedom movement, of course, was Lajos Kossuth. The Congressman was 
Abraham Lincoln. The bonds between our citizens, based not only on the 
large number of distinguished Hungarian-Americans in our country but 
also on our shared aspirations for freedom and democracy, have very deep 
roots.
    I would like to say a special word of thanks to Congressman 
Tom and Annette Lantos, and others who have helped them, because they are 
responsible for the fact that a bust of Kossuth now stands in the 
rotunda of our Capitol. Ralph Waldo Emerson called him ``the angel of 
freedom.'' He was only the second non-American--

[[Page 904]]

Lafayette being the first--to address both Houses of Congress. Crowds 
greeted him wherever he went. He was a true American hero.
    Mr. President, like Kossuth, you taught yourself English while you 
were in prison, at a time when you had just escaped a death sentence and 
faced a life term because you stood for liberty. Later, you translated 
the works of many great writers: Edith Wharton, Thomas Wolfe, William 
Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Arthur Miller, James Baldwin, John Updike, 
Alice Walker. And at least two I think are here tonight, William 
Styron and Susan Sontag. These translations offered Hungarians a window on the 
West and earned you many admirers at home. This work is just one part, 
but it is a vital part, of your contribution to ending the division of 
Europe.
    I even noted in preparing for this that you translated into 
Hungarian President Bush's 1988 campaign 
biography, ``Looking Forward.'' [Laughter] Now by the time Al Gore and I 
published our book, ``Putting People First,'' in 1992, you were already 
President of Hungary and unfortunately too busy to translate this 
profoundly important work. [Laughter] At least, I choose to believe that 
is the reason you did not choose to translate it. [Laughter]
    In this decade, your own works have been translated and published in 
English, your plays performed in the United States. They are a brave set 
of explorations of political conflict and war, freedom and betrayal, the 
struggle for daily survival and dignity in the face of adversity. 
Americans have absorbed these works as we have watched you lead your 
nation, deepening freedom there and promoting human rights and ethnic 
tolerance around the world and especially in your own region. The only 
Hungarian head of state to make an official visit to Romania in this 
century, you told the joint session of Parliament there that ethnic 
minorities enrich their nations and form a valuable connective link in 
strengthening relations between nations.
    Your vision of people living together and nations living together, 
resolving differences peacefully, drawing strength from their diversity, 
treating all people with equal dignity, this will form the basis of a 
better future for Europe and the world. It is at the heart of what we 
have been trying to do in our efforts to reverse ethnic cleansing in 
Kosovo and to build a southeastern Europe in which all people can live 
together in dignity and freedom.
    Now, Mr. President, normally when I propose a toast to a visiting 
head of state, I say something like ``cheers.'' I have been advised by 
the State Department that the Hungarian word for ``cheers'' is, and I 
want to quote from the memo I got--[laughter]--``practically impossible 
to pronounce correctly.'' [Laughter] I have accepted their considered 
judgment. [Laughter] So, instead, I would like to salute you and Mrs. 
Goncz with the words that greeted 
Kossuth on streamers all across New York City on the day he arrived in 
America: Isten Hozta. Welcome.
    I ask all of you to join me in a toast to President and Mrs. Goncz 
and to the people of Hungary. Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 8:35 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Maria Zsuzsanna Gonter, wife of 
President Goncz. The transcript released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary also included the remarks of President Goncz.