Post by McKenna on Jun 6, 2004 16:21:16 GMT 1
Tributes flood in for Reagan
Tributes have been pouring in for former US president Ronald Reagan who died on Saturday at the age of 93 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
President George W Bush said Reagan was "a courageous man", a "gallant leader in the cause of freedom".
Ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who met Reagan several times, called him a "great president" and a statesman.
Reagan's 1981-89 White House tenure saw the Cold War climax and the beginning of the end of Soviet communism.
White House officials said President Bush has ordered flags at US government buildings to be flown at half-mast for the next 30 days.
Mr Bush said Reagan - who became known as the "great communicator" - leaves behind "a nation he restored and a world he helped save". He "won America's respect with his greatness. And won its love with his goodness."
Obituary: White House legacy
Reagan in his own words
His father George Bush snr - who served as Reagan's vice president before succeeding him in office - recalled Reagan's public speaking skills, describing his "many speeches that could just muster the best in us as a country".
Another former president, Bill Clinton, called him a true original, while Democratic hopeful John Kerry described him as "the true voice of America".
And former White House staff member James Baker said: "Many people disagreed with his policies, but nobody I know really found it possible to hate him or dislike him.
"His legacy is massive", according to former New York city mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
"If you go to Eastern Europe, he is one of the most beloved people in the world."
'Evil empire'
Ex-UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher spoke warmly of the man many regarded as her ideological soulmate during the Cold War years.
"President Reagan was one of my closest political and dearest personal friends," she said.
She credited him with having "won the Cold War for liberty... without a shot being fired."
"To have achieved so much against so many odds and with such humour and humanity made Ronald Reagan a truly great American hero."
One of the greatest Presidents in American history. He had a simple, united vision of the world that he carried with such passion that he transformed it by ending the Cold War.
Dan Oberg, USA
Leaders mourn
Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl said he was a "great friend of the Germans", adding that he would never forget standing next to Reagan in West Berlin in 1987 when he challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.
In Mr Gorbachev's view, it was thanks to Ronald Reagan that the communist USSR and US began a difficult but crucial dialogue - despite the vast ideological gulf with a country Reagan famously called the "evil empire".
"Reagan was a statesman who, despite all disagreements that existed between our countries at the time, displayed foresight and determination to meet our proposals halfway and change our relations for the better, stop the nuclear race, start scrapping nuclear weapons, and arrange normal relations between our countries," he is quoted as saying.
But in his reaction, Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi struck a different tone, expressing sorrow that Ronald Reagan had died before he could be brought to trial over US air strikes in Libya in 1986.
State funeral
Reagan revealed in November 1994 that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, which destroys brain cells and causes memory loss.
Last month, Mrs Reagan - his wife of 52 years and fierce protector of his privacy in recent years - revealed that her husband's illness had got worse.
He died at home in Los Angeles, where his family were with him.
A representative of the family said Reagan died of pneumonia - a complication of Alzheimer's.
After a state funeral in Washington, Reagan is to be buried near his presidential library in Simi Valley, California.
Reagan was the 40th president of the US, taking office at the age of 69, the oldest to do so. He lived longer than any US president.
Before entering politics he had a career in Hollywood films, but never made it big. He described himself as the Errol Flynn of the B-movies.
RONALD REAGAN
1911: Born in Tampico, Illinois
1937: Wins Hollywood contract
1966-74: Serves as governor of California
1981-89: Serves as 40th president of the US
Mar 1981: Survives an assassination attempt
1994: Reveals he has Alzheimer's Disease
credit bbc.co.uk/news
Any thoughts on the man, Post here
Rest In Peace
Tributes have been pouring in for former US president Ronald Reagan who died on Saturday at the age of 93 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
President George W Bush said Reagan was "a courageous man", a "gallant leader in the cause of freedom".
Ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who met Reagan several times, called him a "great president" and a statesman.
Reagan's 1981-89 White House tenure saw the Cold War climax and the beginning of the end of Soviet communism.
White House officials said President Bush has ordered flags at US government buildings to be flown at half-mast for the next 30 days.
Mr Bush said Reagan - who became known as the "great communicator" - leaves behind "a nation he restored and a world he helped save". He "won America's respect with his greatness. And won its love with his goodness."
Obituary: White House legacy
Reagan in his own words
His father George Bush snr - who served as Reagan's vice president before succeeding him in office - recalled Reagan's public speaking skills, describing his "many speeches that could just muster the best in us as a country".
Another former president, Bill Clinton, called him a true original, while Democratic hopeful John Kerry described him as "the true voice of America".
And former White House staff member James Baker said: "Many people disagreed with his policies, but nobody I know really found it possible to hate him or dislike him.
"His legacy is massive", according to former New York city mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
"If you go to Eastern Europe, he is one of the most beloved people in the world."
'Evil empire'
Ex-UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher spoke warmly of the man many regarded as her ideological soulmate during the Cold War years.
"President Reagan was one of my closest political and dearest personal friends," she said.
She credited him with having "won the Cold War for liberty... without a shot being fired."
"To have achieved so much against so many odds and with such humour and humanity made Ronald Reagan a truly great American hero."
One of the greatest Presidents in American history. He had a simple, united vision of the world that he carried with such passion that he transformed it by ending the Cold War.
Dan Oberg, USA
Leaders mourn
Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl said he was a "great friend of the Germans", adding that he would never forget standing next to Reagan in West Berlin in 1987 when he challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.
In Mr Gorbachev's view, it was thanks to Ronald Reagan that the communist USSR and US began a difficult but crucial dialogue - despite the vast ideological gulf with a country Reagan famously called the "evil empire".
"Reagan was a statesman who, despite all disagreements that existed between our countries at the time, displayed foresight and determination to meet our proposals halfway and change our relations for the better, stop the nuclear race, start scrapping nuclear weapons, and arrange normal relations between our countries," he is quoted as saying.
But in his reaction, Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi struck a different tone, expressing sorrow that Ronald Reagan had died before he could be brought to trial over US air strikes in Libya in 1986.
State funeral
Reagan revealed in November 1994 that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, which destroys brain cells and causes memory loss.
Last month, Mrs Reagan - his wife of 52 years and fierce protector of his privacy in recent years - revealed that her husband's illness had got worse.
He died at home in Los Angeles, where his family were with him.
A representative of the family said Reagan died of pneumonia - a complication of Alzheimer's.
After a state funeral in Washington, Reagan is to be buried near his presidential library in Simi Valley, California.
Reagan was the 40th president of the US, taking office at the age of 69, the oldest to do so. He lived longer than any US president.
Before entering politics he had a career in Hollywood films, but never made it big. He described himself as the Errol Flynn of the B-movies.
RONALD REAGAN
1911: Born in Tampico, Illinois
1937: Wins Hollywood contract
1966-74: Serves as governor of California
1981-89: Serves as 40th president of the US
Mar 1981: Survives an assassination attempt
1994: Reveals he has Alzheimer's Disease
credit bbc.co.uk/news
Any thoughts on the man, Post here
Rest In Peace
