Memorial Remarks for George Shultz For decades, George and I talked practically every Sunday. On several occasions, we promised each other to participate at the other’s memorial service. Knowing George, he will in all likelihood have found some ingenious way to uphold his end of the bargain, perhaps drafting remarks welcoming me to his present […]
Memorial Remarks for Beverly Sills I adored Beverly. When we lunched, we used to tell anyone we ran into – if necessary, even the headwaiters – that we were one of the great love stories of the city and that we kept it secret by flaunting it. In an ultimate sense, this had the advantage […]
Remarks at American Academy of Diplomacy Fifteenth Annual Diplomatic Awards Luncheon honoring the late Joseph Sisco Joe Sisco was an original; when they made him, they threw away the mold. Indefatigable, dedicated, knowledgeable, a superb diplomat, and a skillful bureaucratic infighter, Joe was an indispensable colleague and a valued friend. We met in the early […]
Eulogy for Cyrus R. Vance Cyrus Vance devoted his life to the service of his nation and the search for peace in the world. Dedicated, tenacious, unflappable, self-effacing, Cy was a gentleman of what is now called “the old school;” we would all be better off had qualities such as his remained commonplace. We met […]
Eulogy for John Whitehead The ultimate challenge of a society is to bridge the gap between where it is and where it has never been. To travel that road requires, above all, character and courage: character, because the decisions marking the journey are always close; and courage, because the initial stages are always lonesome. Hence […]
Eulogy for Walter Wriston I loved Walt Wriston. We live in an age of extraordinary self-consciousness; its fashionable representatives tend to evaluate themselves by their image rather than their long-term accomplishments. The goal is effect rather than achievement; frequently, the two are confused with each other. Walt represented other priorities. His ambition was to do, […]
The World Will Miss Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew was a great man. And he was a close personal friend, a fact that I consider one of the great blessings of my life. A world needing to distill order from incipient chaos will miss his leadership. Lee emerged onto the international stage as the […]