Speech on the occasion of bestowing Dr. Eugene A. Sekulow with the Commanders’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany at the residence, New York, June 29, 2006

Lieber Herr Sekulow, dear Mrs. Sekulow,
Dear friends of Eugene Sekulow, of the German-American Chamber of Commerce, of the AICGS,

There is a well-known quotation from former Federal Chancellor Adenauer: "Wenn Orden zu Recht verliehen werden, zeigt das Schicksal sich von seiner lächelnden Seite!" [“When orders are awarded for the right reason, fate shows its smiling side!”] This is particularly true today!

It is a particular pleasure for me as German Consul in New York to able to honor an original New Yorker, a born New Yorker, who, working from here, reached far beyond New York, has dedicated the greater part of his life’s work to German-American relations in general and economic relations in particular.

1981 is an important date in German-American economic relations:
That is when you, Mr. Sekulow, took over the important post of the Chairman of the German American Chamber of Commerce - and held it without interruption for nearly 25 years! For an institution which is a little older than 50 years this is an incredible lapse of time. Therefore, it is not surprising that in conversation, many people, when ascertaining the point in time of a past event, ask whether it was before the “Sekulow Era” or during this era. And it is no surprise and therefore also no secret: if they were important events, then it goes without saying that they were during this era!

Dear Mr. Sekulow, during your time, you, with great personal dedication, built and expanded the German American Chamber of Commerce, making it into a modern service enterprise, which, for many decades now, has initiated and accompanied countless transatlantic business relationships – and continues this in increasing measure. In doing so, you also succeeded in strengthening relations between the German and the American economic community. For this, the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit was already bestowed upon you in 1991.

You built the solid foundation upon which you and your colleagues and all the other members of the board and the executives have successfully continued to work. That you did not stop, but instead carried on, that you continued to expand your circle and used your influence – that is what we want to honor here this evening at this ceremony, within the circle of those who accompanied you along the way.

A highpoint in the life of the Chamber under your direction was surely the 50th-year celebration of the Chamber in June 1997, at which you were able to welcome Federal Chancellor Kohl as the guest of honor as part of a festive dinner at the Metropolitan Museum. It was one of your accomplishments overall to be able to attract a large number of prominent German politicians and business leaders to Chamber events – and I will not begin listing them. But I want to stress: you succeeded in catching all these big fish, and this surprises only a little those who know you well. In your private life, you are, after all, renowned for your artful fly-fishing. There, too, an important requirement for success is “casting” – that is, the casting of the net or the fishhook. Relating this to the Chamber: the right eye for important people, companies or institutions, and the feel for then getting them on the hook at the right moment and presenting them ... that is also what makes a successful chairman of a chamber of commerce.

Although you have, in the meantime, after an impressive carrier in business entered retirement, you remain active in the Chamber of Commerce in your new role as Honorary Director of the Executive Board.

Yet there is more. In recent years, you have consistently expanded your arena of commitment beyond the political and economic fields, by devoting yourself especially to the work of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies. Since 2001, you have held the office of Vice President of the Board of Trustees there. Knowing your close connextion to the Johns-Hopkins-University, where you received an MA and a PhD and where you have taught for years, it is maybe no surprise that you are a supporter of AICGS. But your initiatives, events and presentations have contributed substantially to the prestige that this institute now enjoys. The research findings, analyses, events and publications obtained in this connection are a not-to-be-underestimated contribution to the strengthening of German-American intellectual relations, and indeed, to all fields of politics, economics and culture.
Your commitment to our German-American relations also beyond the sphere of promoting economic relations is of particular importance to us.

Many of you heard the German Chancellor Angela Merkel here in New York who stressed in public “that as far as our economic relations are concerned, there is absolutely no cause for pessimism”. This is also due to endeavours of all of you.
But in the smaller circle of the 18 top CEOs speaking about people to people contacts, about exchanges, about extending political and cultural awareness of our common transatlantic civilization she also stressed the important role people of business, the firms themselves, can – and must - play in promoting our German-American relations. You have proven to us that this possible and shown the commitment we need to foster our common heritage. And for this, too, we are gratefull.

Let me now read the certificate of the order.