[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 8 (Monday, February 28, 2000)]
[Pages 362-363]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a State Dinner Honoring King Juan Carlos I of Spain

February 23, 2000

    Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome His Majesty King Juan Carlos and 
Majesty Queen Sofia; members of the Spanish delegation; to all the rest 
of you. It is a great honor in this house of the American people to 
welcome a King and Queen who are truly of their people.
    Your Majesties, on behalf of all Americans, let me begin by 
expressing my condolences to the families of the two victims of 
yesterday's car bombing in northern Spain. We stand with Spain in 
condemning this cowardly act and call on those responsible to renounce 
the violence and terrorism which have taken too many innocent lives in 
recent years. In a democracy, we must settle our differences through 
dialog, not destruction.
    One of the greatest pleasures of the last 7 years has been the 
opportunity that Hillary and I have had on many occasions to be with 
King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. Five years ago, I welcomed them to the 
White House on the occasion of their son's graduation from my alma 
mater, the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. On that day, 
the King and Queen also received honorary doctorates.
    The King joked that day that the reason the university had given him 
the degree was that if his son started bragging about his masters, he 
could always say, ``Yes, but I am a doctor.'' [Laughter]
    Two years later, the King and Queen hosted Hillary, Chelsea, and me 
just a few weeks after Chelsea graduated from high school. For me, it 
was the fulfillment of a long dream. When I was a young graduate 
student, more than 30 years ago, I first went to Spain in the spring of 
1969. I went to Granada to visit the Alhambra. I never got over it, and 
I promised myself that one day, somehow, I would return. Well, thanks to 
the King and Queen, I was once again able to see the Sun set over the 
plains of Granada, in a style slightly better than that which I enjoyed 
as a graduate student. [Laughter]
    It is a special honor for us to have the King and the Queen here 
today on the anniversary of the day in which the courage of the King 
literally saved democracy for Spain.
    Our friendship is just the latest chapter in a long history of 
friendship between our two nations. Five centuries ago, the vision of 
Queen Isabella guided sailors across vast oceans to discover a new 
world. The Spanish of that day left their language, their religion, and 
much of their culture on these shores. The State in which I was born 
once was part of the Spanish Empire. And I suppose, Your Majesties, I 
am, in a sense, one of your subjects. [Laughter]
    Today, five centuries later, Christopher Columbus is the only 
foreign citizen America honors with a national holiday. For some time 
now, Spanish has been our second most spoken language, and all across 
America, Spanish-speaking men and women, many of whom are here tonight, 
enrich our Nation and our lives. Today, five centuries after Spain 
helped to lead the world through the age of exploration, it is the 
vision of a direct descendant of Queen Isabella, His Majesty

[[Page 363]]

King Juan Carlos, who is helping to lead this new world through a new 
age of information.
    Spain is spreading the values of democracy, respect for human 
rights, and free markets across the globe, from Latin America to the 
Balkans, Europe to the Middle East. Your Majesties, we are proud in 
America to be your partners, your Allies, and your friends.
    Saint Isidore once wrote, ``Spain is the most beautiful of all the 
lands extending from the West to India, for through her, East and West 
receive light.'' Today, may the light of our friendship continue to 
inspire and enlighten nations from East to West as we work to build a 
world that is more democratic, more open, more free, and at peace.
    I ask you all to join me in a toast to the King and Queen of Spain 
and the people of their wonderful country.

Note: The President spoke at 8:45 p.m. in the State Dining Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, he referred to Queen Sofia, wife of King 
Juan Carlos I, and their son, Crown Prince Felipe; and Spanish 
politician Fernando Buesa and his bodyguard Jorge Diez, who were killed 
in a car bomb explosion on February 23. The transcript made available by 
the Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of King 
Carlos.