[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 8, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E39]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IN MEMORY OF COLD WAR HERO WILLIAM G. GEIMER
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HON. FRANK R. WOLF
of virginia
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, January 8, 2003
Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, on December 1, 2002 another chapter of the
Cold War with the Former Soviet Union ended with the passing of William
G. Geimer. Bill was the visionary founder and longtime president of the
Jamestown Foundation, a non profit organization devoted to promoting
liberty and fighting totalitarianism most notably in the Soviet Union
during the Cold War.
I had the privilege of working with and learning from Bill as he
waged the good fight against the oppressive regimes of the Soviet Union
that sought to crush the human spirit. Through his instrumental role at
the Jamestown Foundation, Bill's leadership and vision helped bring
down the Iron Curtain. Mr. Speaker, I will insert following these
remarks a press release from the Jamestown Foundation that describes
how Bill made a tremendous difference with his life.
Bill's efforts and advocacy with the Jamestown Foundation influenced
Members of Congress, government officials and the general public
exposing the corrupt and immoral nature of Soviet communism. Bill will
be truly missed as this nation confronts other totalitarian regimes,
but his life and vision can serve as a legacy for others continuing the
fight against evil.
In Memoriam, William W. Geimer: August 18, 1937--December 1, 2002
Jamestown Foundation Founder and Cold War Hero Dies
Washington, DC.--With deep sorrow, the Jamestown Foundation
announces the death of William W. Geimer, its visionary
founder and longtime president.
Mr. Geimer, 65, established the Jamestown Foundation at a
critical point in the Cold War as a source of first-hand
accounts of the inner workings of the Soviet Union and other
Eastern bloc countries. From its founding in 1984, the
foundation has become the leading force for disclosing to the
world the knowledge and insights of those in the top reaches
of closed totalitarian societies, including high level
defectors from the Soviet Union and its client states. For
creating a safe haven for high-ranking officials from behind
the Iron Curtain with the courage to tell the world the true
nature of communism, Geimer was recognized by President
Ronald Reagan as a key figure in the collapse of the Soviet
Union.
Geimer was inspired to launch the foundation following his
work with Arkady Shevchenko, the highest-ranking Soviet
official ever to defect when he left his position as
undersecretary general of the United Nations. Asked by the
State Department to serve as Shevchenko's attorney, Geimer
recognized that Shevchenko could provide a unique and
invaluable insider's view of Soviet policymaking, arms
control negotiation strategies and the workings of the top
reaches of the then-secret Soviet government. Geimer was
instrumental in the publication of Shevchenko's writings,
most notably, the bestseller ``Breaking with Moscow,'' in
which Shevchenko acknowledged, as well as the close personal
friendship between them, ``the countless hours, days, years
of himself'' that Bill Geimer had given to ``bring me into a
new life.''
Following the end of the Cold War, Geimer moved the
foundation aggressively into monitoring the Soviet transition
away from totalitarianism by publishing daily analytical
reports on events in the region. The Jamestown Foundation's
research and publications have become the leading source of
information on the war in Chechnya, and on political,
military and economic trends in the states of the former
Soviet Union and in China.
``Bill was an American patriot who devoted his life to
promote freedom and democracy worldwide,'' said Barbara D.
Abbott, the Jamestown Foundation's vice chairman and now
president. ``From the Evil Empire to the Axis of Evil, he
never wavered in his belief that an attack on the secrecy of
closed societies is one of the greatest weapons in a
democracy's arsenal. Bill's vision, wisdom, kindness and
humor will be missed, but his work will continue at the
Jamestown Foundation.''
``Geimer was a visionary,'' long-time Board member and
former Central Intelligence Agency director R. James Woolsey
observed. ``He had an enormous impact on our national
security efforts. As the Soviet Union began to collapse, Bill
was one of the first to foresee that the instability brought
about by that dissolution might result in rogue groups more
difficult to deal with and potentially more of a threat to
freedom than the USSR, which is precisely the situation we
face with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida.''
Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jamestown Advisory Board member,
recalls that ``Bill Geimer was a patriot with a vision, an
idealist with a program, and a leader who knew how to get
things done.''
Vice President Dick Cheney, a former Jamestown Foundation
board member who attended Wednesday's funeral services,
stated, ``The Jamestown Foundation has played an important
role in alleviating suffering and in furthering democracy.''
A native of Chicago, William W. Geimer received his
bachelor's degree from Marquette University and his law
degree from Northwestern University. He served on President
Ronald Reagan's Export-Import Bank transition team, and in
top-level positions in the Nixon and Ford administrations,
including as deputy assistant secretary of state for
international trade. He maintained a private law practice in
Washington, DC from 1976 to 1984.
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