Death of Bronislaw Geremek
Bern, 13.07.2008 - The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) has learned with great sadness of the death, in an accident on Sunday in Poland, of Bronislaw Geremek, president of the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe, in Lausanne and former minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Poland. Switzerland pays tribute to this great statesman and exceptional scholar who leaves us too early. The FDFA expresses its heart-felt condolences to his family and friends as well as to all those who worked with him.
Federal Councillor Micheline Calmy-Rey, head of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, met Mr Geremek on several occasions. They developed a relationship of considerable mutual respect. Micheline Calmy-Rey pays tribute to the memory of a great statesman whose commitment and ideas will continue to influence the debate on Europe and its future for years to come.
Bronislaw Geremek was the head of Polish diplomacy from 1997 to 2000. He was a leading academic in history, a founding member of Solidarnosc, a close adviser to Lech Walesa, and a scholar who made an inestimable contribution to the development of Europe.
He spoke French perfectly and appreciated Switzerland, a country with which he had close and friendly ties. Since the beginning of 2006, he had been president of the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe, which was established in 1978 by Jean Monnet, one of fathers of the European Community. Bronislaw Geremek’s untimely death is a major loss for the Foundation as well as for all those who are committed to building Europe as a driving force for peace, democracy and prosperity.
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