President Obama Presented in Prague Ambitious Strategy to Address the Nuclear Threat (posted on April 5) - U.S. Embassy in Prague
About the Embassy U.S. Citizen Services Visas to the U.S. U.S. Policy & Issues American Center •esky
You Are In: Home > About the Embassy > Embassy Events > Events 2009
Embassy Information
Ambassador
Embassy Events
Events 2009
Liberation by U.S. Armed
Forces
birds
Events 2008
Events 2007
Events 2006
Events 2005
Embassy Press Releases
Embassy Newsletter
Public Affairs Section
U.S. Commercial Service
Agricultural Services
Office of Defense Attache
Office of Defense
Cooperation
Job Opportunities
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Hrad•any Square
Prague, Czech Republic
April 5, 2009
Video
Thank you for this wonderful welcome. Thank you to the people of Prague. And thank you to the people of the Czech Republic.
Today, I am proud to stand here with you in the middle of this great city, in the center of Europe. And - to paraphrase one my
predecessors - I am also proud to be the man who brought Michelle Obama to Prague.
I have learned over many years to appreciate the good company and good humor of the Czech people in my hometown of
Chicago. Behind me is a statue of a hero of the Czech people - Tomas Masaryk. In 1918, after America had pledged its support
for Czech independence, Masaryk spoke to a crowd in Chicago that was estimated to be over 100,000. I don't think I can match
Masaryk's record, but I'm honored to follow his footsteps from Chicago to Prague.
For over a thousand years, Prague has set itself apart from any other city in any other place. You have known war and peace.
You have seen empires rise and fall. You have led revolutions in the arts and science, in politics and poetry. Through it all, the
people of Prague have insisted on pursuing their own path, and defining their own destiny. And this city - this Golden City which
is both ancient and youthful - stands as a living monument to your unconquerable spirit.
When I was born, the world was divided, and our nations were faced with very different circumstances. Few people would have
predicted that someone like me would one day become an American President. Few people would have predicted that an
American President would one day be permitted to speak to an audience like this in Prague. And few would have imagined that
the Czech Republic would become a free nation, a member of NATO, and a leader of a united Europe. Those ideas would have
been dismissed as dreams.
We are here today because enough people ignored the voices who told them that the world could not change.
Page Tools:
Print this article
- PICTURE GALLERY -
President Obama's Visit
to Prague
Preparation of the site for
President Obama's Speech
- Barack Obama in Europe -
March 31 - April 7, 2009
President Obama in Turkey
April 6-7, 2009
Speech to the Turkish Grand
National Assembly
Student Roundtable in Instanbul
EU-USA Summit in Prague
April 5, 2009
President Obama's Visit to
Strasbourg for the NATO Summit
Picture Gallery
