[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 12 (Monday, March 29, 1999)]
[Pages 515-516]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7175--Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration 
of Greek and American Democracy, 1999

March 24, 1999

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    America has deep roots in Greece, and today we celebrate the 
friendship, values, and aspirations our two countries have shared for 
more than 2 centuries. Greek thought and the passion for truth and 
justice deeply influenced many of our Nation's earliest and greatest 
leaders. The documents our founders wrote to establish our democracy and 
the political and legal institutions they created to preserve our 
independence and protect our rights reveal that influence.
    Later, recognizing this profound debt to Greek thought and culture 
and inspired by the struggle of modern Greece in the War of Greek 
Independence, many Americans left home to join in that distant fight for 
freedom between 1821 and 1832. In this century, the relationship between 
the Greek and American peoples deepened as we fought together in two 
world wars. The U.S. desire to help preserve freedom in Greece after the 
devastation of World War II moved President Truman to stand firm against 
isolationism and for postwar engagement abroad. Our nations stood 
together in Korea and in the Gulf War, and we continue to work shoulder-
to-shoulder today in our efforts to find a lasting solution in the 
Balkans and to promote democracy around the world.
    The bonds of family have further reinforced our ties of friendship 
and shared ideals. All across our Nation, Americans of Greek descent 
have brought their energy, grace, and determination to every field of 
endeavor, and they have added immeasurably to the richness and diversity 
of our national life. The sons and daughters of Greece have flourished 
in America, and with their help, America too has flourished.

[[Page 516]]

    Today, as we celebrate the 178th anniversary of the onset of modern 
Greece's struggle for independence, let us celebrate as well the great 
partnership between our nations and the precious heritage of freedom and 
democracy we share.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the 
Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 25, 
1999, as Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek 
and American Democracy. I call upon all Americans to observe this day 
with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth 
day of March, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and twenty-third.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:33 a.m., March 25, 
1999]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on March 24, and it was published in the Federal Register on 
March 26.