Toespraak burgemeester bij Dutch-American Heritage Day (eng, nov.'09)

Speech of the Mayor Mr van Aartsen on the occasion of the Dutch-American Heritage Day, 16 November 2009

Excellency,

Ladies and gentlemen,

The ties between the United States and the Netherlands are long and close.

The Netherlands was one of the first countries to recognise the United States. The later president John Adams was the first American ambassador to the Netherlands. He presented his credentials in the Trêveszaal or the Truce Chamber [John Adams own words] here in the The Hague on 20 April 1782.

One hundred and twenty-five years later, Theodore – Teddy – Roosevelt, one of my favourite American presidents, travelled to The Hague for the Second Peace Conference, an event he himself had initiated. He stayed in Hotel des Indes. In fact the hotel still has the letter of thanks sent by the president with Dutch roots.

16 November 2009 is 233 years to the day when the Netherlands forces on the Caribbean island of St Eustatius returned a salute from the ship that was flying the Stars and Stripes, the new flag of the United States. To mark the occasion, we are pausing to celebrate the special tie that joins our two nations. Countless Americans have Dutch forefathers, just like President Theodore Roosevelt.

Madam Ambassador, you, too, have every reason for celebrating the day. Even more so, for not only do you have Dutch roots, you also have roots in The Hague! Your parents were married here and had a house built here that is still standing to this very day. And now you yourself, as ambassador of the United States, have become a resident of The Hague.

Relations between the Netherlands and America are close, but The Hague, too, has firm ties with the United States. I’ve already mentioned John Adams. Traditionally, too, the American community has always been well represented here.

And if I look to the future, to be quite frank, I see the relationship between The Hague and America only becoming stronger.

President Obama is dedicating himself to a renewal in international relations. The Hague could very well play a role in that renewal process, as the city of Hugo de Groot, the originator of the concept of ‘international community’. In fact The Hague is a really a kind of tryout area for changes in the field of international cooperation and international legislation thanks to the presence of so many international organisations, both great and small, both old and new.

Our city reflects well the immense diversity of actors in the international community. In that respect The Hague is constantly on the move. Next year, for instance, we will be welcoming the  Martin Luther King Centre from Atlanta. At the same time, we are working hard to create the Institute of Global Justice, a top multidisciplinary institute that can count, for one thing, on the cooperation of Madeleine Albright.

But we cannot do all of this on our own. For that we need to win the hearts and minds of future generations. And here we have today, pupils from schools in The Hague,  who travelled to the United States earlier this year as winners of an essay competition.

You visited the headquarters of the United Nations in New York as ambassadors of tomorrow and world citizens of the future. Your trip symbolises our express wish that the ties between The Hague, the United States and the international community should become even closer in the coming years. We all be dedicating ourselves wholeheartedly to this goal.