[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 41 (Monday, October 15, 2001)]
[Pages 1446-1447]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7483--Leif Erikson Day, 2001

October 9, 2001

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    On Leif Erikson Day, we join our friends in Denmark, Finland, 
Iceland, Norway, and Sweden to celebrate and pay homage to our shared 
ideals and commemorate the contributions of Nordic Americans to our 
culture. We honor the explorers who led the first Viking explorations at 
the beginning of the last millennium, and we pay tribute to the many 
Nordic pioneers who helped to explore and settle America's 19th Century 
frontiers. The Nordic and American peoples share the virtues of courage, 
resourcefulness, and self-reliance, and they have built nations based on 
the principles of liberty, justice, and equality.
    Leif Erikson and his men braved the unknown and risked their lives 
to become the first Europeans to set foot on North American soil. As we 
reflect upon Erikson's groundbreaking achievements and marvel at the 
adversity and dangers he and his explorers endured, we are thankful for 
their great endeavor and recognize that achieving difficult goals 
requires people who are courageous and willing to sacrifice, who take 
action and take risks.
    Today, American researchers and entreprenuers, including many of 
Nordic descent, are making landmark discoveries in the fields of 
genetics, information technology, biotechnology, and renewable energy. 
Through our Northern European Initiative and the ``Northern Dimension'' 
program that Scandinavian countries have sponsored, we are deepening our 
cooperation and connections with the Baltic region, building regional 
links in Northwest Russia, and renewing historic trade relationships. 
And, we are working closely with our Nordic Allies in NATO by helping to 
provide for the region's common defense and stability. These and other 
efforts

[[Page 1447]]

to improve the world mark the citizens of the United States as a people 
possessing virtues that echo those of Leif Erikson and the first Vikings 
who landed on our northern shores.

    To honor Leif Erikson, the brave son of Iceland and grandson of 
Norway, and our Nordic American heritage, the Congress, by joint 
resolution (Public Law 88-66) approved on September 2, 1964, has 
authorized and requested the President to proclaim October 9 of each 
year as Leif Erikson Day.

    Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States of 
America, do hereby proclaim October 9, 2001, as Leif Erikson Day. I call 
upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies, 
activities, and programs to honor our rich Nordic-American heritage.

    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of 
October, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
sixth.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., October 11, 
2001]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on October 
12.