December 11, 2015

Winston Churchill National Leadership Award

Winston S ChurchillOn December 1st 2015, in Freedom Foyer at The U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, House Speaker Paul Ryan presented Senator Joe Lieberman with the Winston Churchill National Leadership Award.

The following are the remarks and messages from the award ceremony.

SENATOR JOE LIEBERMAN:

Mr. Speaker, I thank you and The Churchill Centre for this award and for the generosity of spirit and word with which you have presented it. Congratulations on becoming Speaker. As you take on your new, challenging responsibilities, may I respectfully offer you this advice often attributed to Winston Churchill, “If you are going through hell, keep going.”

To know how much receiving this award means to me, you would have to be me.

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Since I started reading history and biography a long time ago, Winston Churchill has been a hero of mine. His words and deeds helped inspire my interest in public service and taught me what true leadership is. And his words also often made me laugh.  Churchill once famously said he was confident history would treat him well because he intended to write it.  History has treated him very well and not just because of what he wrote.

His singular, clear vision and voice during the 1930’s about the gathering storm of Nazism, and his brilliant and eloquent leadership during the war saved our civilization—literally–and set a standard for leadership in times of crisis that will last forever.  Today, our civilization faces another grave threat–this time from Radical Islamist Terrorism–and we desperately need to embrace and implement the lessons of Churchill’s leadership.

We need Churchillian clarity to rally our people to understand the evil intentions of our enemies and to build the confidence to marshal our forces to defeat this enemy before it defeats us and our values.

I am also proud to accept this award because it testifies to the special kinship between the people of the U.S. and the people of the U.K.  We are cut from the same principled cloth.  Our hearts are moved by the same ideals of freedom, opportunity, and the rule of law.  And our destinies are tied together as closely today as they were during Churchill’s time.

For all these reasons, I accept this award with gratitude, humility and renewed purpose.

Thank you and God bless you, God bless America, and God Save the Queen.

U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER PAUL RYAN:

Like any good Churchill fan, I have taken the liberty this evening of preparing some “impromptu” remarks.

But in all seriousness, I’ve long admired Winston Churchill. When I was just starting out, I read the William Manchester biography of him. I also read the last volume when it came out a few years ago. The big thing that stood out to me was Churchill’s perseverance and personal strength.  He went through all those years in the wilderness, often derided and ignored, because he knew he was right. He knew Britain had to stand up for Western freedom.

And all of us in America are so grateful that he did.

He was a great statesman. And to this day, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Britain.

So I want to raise this toast in honor of Churchill and what he rightly called the Special Relationship. Here’s to America’s great friend—the Last Lion—Winston Churchill.

FROM THE PRIME MINISTER, THE RT. HON. DAVID CAMERON:

I am very grateful to Speaker Paul Ryan for continuing his predecessor John Boehner’s wonderful annual tradition of celebrating the memory of one of the greatest Anglo-Americans of all time, Sir Winston Churchill.

Churchill believed passionately that the US played a vital role in keeping the world free, faithful to the principles of their Founding Fathers. And he believed in an unbreakable bond between the English Speaking Peoples and the world. He coined a whole range of phrases now in our common lexicon, such as “Iron Curtain”, “summits”, and “We’re all in this together.”

And of course, it was Churchill who used the phrase “Special Relationship” to describe the ties between our two countries. They were special back then, back in the dark days of the early 1940s; and they are special today, as we together confront a series of threats around the world, and work to keep our people safe from terrorist groups intent on destroying the values and freedoms we hold dear. Churchill’s final words to his cabinet on leaving elected office in 1955 were “Never be separated from the Americans.” True then, and true today.

I wish you all the most enjoyable evening and warmly congratulate tonight’s Winston Churchill National Leadership Award winner, Senator Joe Lieberman.

CHURCHILL’S GRANDDAUGHTER EDWINA SANDYS:

My grandfather Winston Churchill was known for his strength in troubled times.  He also had the opposite quality – that of flexibility and a willingness to compromise.

My grandfather Winston Churchill was known for his strength in troubled times.  He also had the opposite quality – that of flexibility and a willingness to compromise.

During World War II, his “Finest Hour”, there was a coalition in Parliament.  Unity was important and he had to co-operate with the opposition.  Sometimes I think he had an easier time doing that than dealing with his own party!

I toast Sir Winston Churchill and also Speaker Ryan and wish him a Churchillian success in the task ahead.

CHURCHILL CENTRE U.S. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR LEE POLLOCK:

Speaker Ryan, thank you for hosting us this evening, and Sir Peter, what better way to conclude your mission in Washington than toasting Winston Churchill with a glass of Pol Roger champagne.

Mr. Speaker, you may be familiar with Churchill’s quote about his favorite beverage: “In defeat I need it; in victory I deserve it.”  I understand in your first few weeks in the Speaker’s Chair you’ve had more victories than defeats, but win or lose, the champagne will be working!

The Churchill Centre is honored to participate in tonight’s Award.  We couldn’t think of a more worthy recipient who embodies Winston Churchill’s belief in bi-partisanship as the foundation of good government than Joe Lieberman.

For almost 50 years, the Centre has been dedicated to ensuring that the legacy of Winston Churchill remains vital and alive.  In an age when leadership is challenged around the globe, the lessons of great leaders of the past are more relevant and timely than ever.  Our signature initiative is the new National Churchill Library at George Washington University, opening mid-next year, which will provide a long-desired permanent home for Churchill studies, scholarship and education.  You can learn more about all things Churchillian at our website, www.winstonchurchill.org

Thank you all for joining us this evening and on behalf of the Centre, our Board of Trustees and our members around the world, congratulations to Joe Lieberman for this well-deserved honor.

A tribute, join us

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