Bill Clinton

“ Just as our forebears persevered through what sometimes seemed insurmountable odds to transform adversity into prosperity, we have continued to champion the cause of liberty and to reach out without reservation or hesitation to our neighbors and those in need around the world. The same heritage that enabled our ancestors to brave wars and uncharted frontiers-because they were convinced that they were working to create a better world-also emboldens us today in our cooperative effort to integrate the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania into the Western community of nations. ”

“ In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-first. ”

“ The pioneering spirit that Leif Erikson and his followers demonstrated embodies the virtues of independence, self-determination, and initiative that are firmly rooted in our national consciousness today. As a vital transatlantic bridge between the continents of America and Europe, the Nordic countries of Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland have repeatedly shown a bedrock commitment to the democratic values that contributed greatly to the formation of our own national ideals. ”