Former German Chancellor to Give Commencement Talk

CONTACT: Mike Cinelli

PHONE:
(713) 831-4794

EMAIL: mcinelli@rice.edu

FORMER GERMAN CHANCELLOR SCHMIDT

TO DELIVER 1999
COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS

Rice graduates will hear first-hand
about forces shaping the economic and political future of Europe when former
German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt delivers the university’s 1999 Commencement
address in May.

Schmidt served as chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
from 1974 through 1982. He remained involved in German politics as a member of
the Bundestag until he stepped down in 1987. But he is hardly retired; he is
currently publisher of the influential weekly newspaper Die Zeit and remains a
very influential voice in European economics and politics.

Rice President Malcolm Gillis, who talked with Schmidt in July
in Germany, said: “Chancellor Helmut Schmidt is one of the pre-eminent statesmen
of the post-World War II era. As an ardent proponent of ‘ostpolitik’ before and
during his term as chancellor, Helmut Schmidt played a central role in turning
NATO’s attention toward the potential economic and political benefits of greater
dialogue with Eastern Europe generally, and Russia in particular.

“Chancellor Schmidt and former French President Valery Giscard
d’Estaing were the two strongest advocates of the European Monetary Union, an
idea that emerged from a conference in Bremen in 1978,” Gillis said. “Within a
few short months, their dream of a unified European currency will become a
reality, as the new medium of exchange — the Euro — will be adopted by 11
nations on January 1, 1999.

“His presence at Rice’s Commencement will be especially timely
and meaningful for three reasons. The first is Rice’s involvement in assisting
the German city-state of Bremen in creating the first private university on the
European continent. The second is the recent intensification of the drive toward
European economic, if not political unity. Europe is now at a critically
important crossroads, politically as well as economically. Elections in Germany
in September will have a very important bearing upon all Europe for some time to
come,” he said. “Third, Chancellor Schmidt has deep insights into the problems
facing Russian society.”

Schmidt, who was born in 1918 in Hamburg, Germany, began his
political career by winning election to the Bundestag in 1953 as a member of the
Social Democratic Party. In addition to elected governmental posts, he served as
German minister of defense and minister of finance in the administration of
Chancellor Willy Brandt.

Commencement activities are scheduled for May 15, 1999, in the
Academic Quadrangle on the Rice campus. The Class of 1999 will be the 86th
graduating class in Rice’s history.

Rice University is a leading American research university —
small, private, and highly selective — distinguished by its superior teaching,
commitment to undergraduate education, outstanding graduate and professional
programs, residential college system, collaborative and interdisciplinary
culture, and global perspective.

###