The Government of Hungary has learned with deep sorrow of the death of Otto von Habsburg (20 November 1912, Reichenau – 4 July 2011, Pöcking).

We remember him as a descendant – and later the head – of the Habsburg Dynasty; as a politician and author of international standing; as an advocate and embodiment of European and universal values; as an influential figure in the movement leading to the unification of our continent; and as a committed and active supporter of our country.

As a member – and later for decades the leader – of the Paneuropean Union, and as an MEP for the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) for twenty years, he played an outstanding role in promoting the integration of our continent and in eliminating its partition. He was always resolute in his defence of human rights and of the oppressed – whether they were victims of the Nazi regime or the masses living under communist dictatorship. He was a patron and organiser of the Pan-European Picnic held in August 1989, which not only opened the door to freedom for 700 East German refugees, but also became a significant and symbolic event in the political transformation of Eastern Europe and in the fall of the Iron Curtain. As a politician in the CSU he contributed greatly to the improvement of Hungarian-German relations and to our country’s accession to the EU. His staunch support for the Hungarian cause and for Hungarian people brought him universal recognition and popularity in our country.

We shall keep his memory alive.

(kormany.hu)