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Toast by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Janez Drnovšek, at an Official Dinner in Honour of His Majesty the King of Sweden and Her Majesty the Queen of Sweden

Brdo Castle by Kranj, 06/15/2004  |  speech


Click to enlargeYour Majesties, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
"The Royal House of Sweden can look forward to a warm welcome in Ljubljana," Swedish author Alfred Jensen wrote over a century ago. His foreknowledge stemmed from the popularity of Jean Baptiste Bernadotte who won the sympathies of the Slovene people through his humanist demeanour as Napoleon's marshal, promising the people of Ljubljana respect for their faith and customs. It was a time that is remembered as a bright period in the history of Slovenehood, a time when the Slovene language was introduced to our schools for the very first time. Click to enlargeThrough centuries of life in multi-ethnic constructs it was indeed the language that formed the strongest bond and focal point of the Slovene people and kept that people alive. When that same marshal Bernadotte became heir to the Swedish crown in 1810 and started the proud royal family of the Bernadottes he bonded Slovene and Swedish history forever.

It is a privilege for me to be able to fulfil the Swedish writer's words so many years down the road and to host august members of the Royal House of Bernadotte. Allow me to welcome in our midst Their Majesties King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia of Sweden.

Click to enlargeA lot of time has passed since the Illyrian Provinces. History carved its own path and brought us to the realisation of our century-long dream of statehood for the Slovene people. Sweden was among the first countries whose recognition proved their understanding of our strife for freedom, sovereignty and independence. May I be permitted to seize this opportunity to express our thanks to the Kingdom of Sweden and its people for their early support of an independent Slovenia.

"Although mounts and seas keep us apart," as Swedish poet of Slovene origin Carl Snoilski wrote, friendly ties have been wrought between our towns and peoples for centuries. We are even connected by the name of a flower. Great natural polyhistors Carl von Linné and Johannes Antonius Scopoli forged a bond of friendship through their correspondence. As a symbol of respect and friendship for Scopoli, who spent most of their 15 years of correspondence in the town of Idrija, Linné named a forest flower sent to Sweden by his friend from the Idrian forests - the Scopolia carniolica.

n one of his letters to Scopoli, Swedish natural scientist Linné regrets the great distance "which keeps me from coming to see you, to enjoy your presence and to enrich myself through it." The development of means of travel diminished geographical distances, mountains and seas not longer pose an obstacle, and Slovenia and Sweden are no longer so very far apart. Contacts among people have thus become more frequent and direct.

Click to enlargeMany Slovenes found their second homeland in Sweden in the nineteen sixties and seventies, people who to this day form a living bridge among our countries. In turn, many Swedes have discovered the beauties of Slovenia as they travelled here for leisure and we are hopeful of seeing even more in the future. As our countrymen left for Sweden thirty years ago it was difficult to imagine that their native and adopted homelands would one day - not so far away in the future - become part of a historical entity, part of the same community, without any borders to separate them.

With the accession of Slovenia to the European Union on this year's historic 1st of May that was precisely what occurred: borders came down and instead of great distances that separated us in the past new opportunities for cooperation and the creation of a common European future now abound. Slovenia achieved its great objective with membership of the European Union. We would not have succeeded without friends. Allow me therefore to take this opportunity to express my thanks to Sweden for its continuous support for our efforts on our way into the European Union, helping us overcome the obstacles we encountered along the way. The European Union offers a chance for us to get to know one another as never before, to interact and to enrich one another.

Click to enlargeLena Holmquist's Swedish-Slovene dictionary published by the Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts in collaboration with the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities as the first Scandinavian language dictionary in Slovene will certainly contribute to this exchange. The need for dialogue between our countries and their peoples has only grown under a shared European citizenship and this dictionary will without doubt serve as a welcome and useful tool for deepening our communication. The dictionary is also a contribution to the network of ties between European languages whose diversity is one of Europe's greatest treasures.

Your Majesties,
Relations between our two states are widely developed and friendly. Your Majesties' visit to our country is both proof and recognition of these excellent relations as well as an opportunity and encouragement to further build and develop our contacts. In Slovenia Sweden is regarded as a country that has been and still remains an example in many facets: how to form a modern state, develop a progressive economy based on creativity, science and knowledge while pursuing prosperity and welfare for all citizens. I am hopeful that the already highly developed Slovene-Swedish cooperation in education, science and culture would grow deeper and stronger in the years to come. I am particularly pleased to also be able to welcome visiting Swedish business leaders studying the possibilities of expanding economic cooperation and joint development of third markets with their Slovene partners.

Your Majesties,
We are indeed hopeful that we would be able to show you at least a small part of the hospitality and the beauties of our country that impressed Jensen, Snoilski and marshal Bernadotte, and to evoke the friendly sentiments, which we foster towards the Kingdom of Sweden. We are hopeful that you would feel at ease among us and that the words of warm welcome for the Royal House of Sweden uttered a century ago would ring true.

With these words I raise a toast, Your Majesties, Ladies and Gentlemen, to friendship between our countries and peoples, to our shared future and to all of you dear friends.
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