A statue of former President Ronald Reagan was dedicated at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin over the weekend.
The statue, a 7-foot-tall likeness of Reagan walking, was a long time coming. City officials had declined multiple requests by the United States to honor him with a statue. Berlin officials said a statue was unnecessary because Reagan was already an honorary citizen of the city.
This year, the statue came to fruition after U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell proposed the U.S. erect a statue on its own accord at the embassy.
The dedication for the monument took place Saturday to commemorate 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
âToday we dedicated a statue of Ronald Reagan atop the US Embassy Berlin on the new Ronald Reagan Terrace. #BerlinWall30,â Grenell tweeted.
Today we dedicated a statue of Ronald Reagan atop the US Embassy Berlin on the new Ronald Reagan Terrace. #BerlinWall30 pic.twitter.com/uZ2hGv6hST
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) November 8, 2019
The wall divided East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, with the German Democratic Republic (controlled by the Soviet Union) ruling the east, and the Federal Republic of Germany (overseen by an allied coalition of Britain, France, and the U.S.) ruling the west.
Reagan, who was the only president to make two trips to the wall, gave a historic speech on June 1987 in front of the Brandenburg Gate, famously calling on Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to âtear down this wall.â
The new statue overlooks the spot where Reagan delivered the speech.
