T H E   W H I T E   H O U S E

Itinerary

Help Site Map Text Only

President's Trip to Europe May-June 2000

Fact Sheets   Speeches   Briefings   Related Sites   Photo Gallery  

Tuesday, May 30 Lisbon, Portugal
Wednesday, May 31 Lisbon, Portugal
Thursday, June 1 Lisbon, Portugal and Berlin, Germany
Friday, June 2 Aachen and Berlin, Germany
Saturday, June 3 Berlin, Germany and Moscow, Russia
Sunday, June 4 Moscow, Russia
Monday, June 5 Moscow, Russia and Kiev, Ukraine


 

TUESDAY, MAY 30
LISBON, PORTUGAL

Arrival Ceremony
Torre de Belem

President Sampaio will welcome President Clinton and the U.S. delegation to Portugal at the Torre de Belem.

The Tower of Belem, also known as the Discoverers’ Monument, was built to defend the entrance of the Tagos river. Construction began in 1514, and was completed in 1520. Over time, it has also served as a customs control point, a telegraph station, a lighthouse and even a prison. The Tower has been classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Wreath Laying
Jeronimos Monastery

President Clinton and President Sampaio will lay a wreath at the tomb of famous Portuguese poet Luis Camoes. The President will then tour the Monastery.

The Jeronimos Monastery is located in the town of Belem, on the outskirts of Lisbon. In Portugal’s "Golden Age," the coastal area of Belem served as the main launching point for the Portuguese ships on their voyages of discovery. The monastery, built in memory of Vasco de Gama’s discovery of a sea route to India, used to house monks who provided "spiritual guidance" to sailors. The site contains the tombs of discoverer Vasco de Gama and poets Luis Camoes and Joao Pessoa.

Bilateral Meeting with President Sampaio
Palacio de Belem

The Belem Palace is the official residence of the President of the Portuguese Republic. It was constructed around 1726 during the reign of King Joao V. Largely rebuilt in the 19th century, Belem Palace was selected as the official residence of the Chief of State following the foundation of the First Republic in 1910.

Bilateral Meeting, Garden Walk and Working Lunch with Prime Minister Guterres
Palacio de Sao Bento (Prime Minister’s Residential Office)

Partnership in the New Age of Discovery Event
Pavilion of Knowledge

In the afternoon, President Clinton and Prime Minister Guterres will tour the scientific exhibits at Lisbon’s Pavilion of Knowledge. They will then address an audience of scientists, teachers and students.

The museum currently houses exhibits on cutting-edge research, including infectious diseases, as well as an exhibit on Portugal’s GLOBE program, an internet-based environmental education program.

State dinner
Ajuda Palace

President Sampaio will host a state dinner at Ajuda Palace.

The Royal Palace of Ajuda, close to the Botanical Garden, is neo-classical in style. Construction began in 1802 but was left incomplete when the royal family (of the Braganca dynasty) was forced into exile in 1807, during the Napoleonic wars. It became the permanent royal residence after the accession of Luis I to the throne in 1861. The Palace is now a museum where the Government of Portugal holds many official receptions and dinners.


 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 31
LISBON, PORTUGAL

President Clinton, European Commission President Prodi and Prime Minister Guterres will meet at the EU Summit and hold a news conference.

Queluz Palace, an old royal residence that has been likened to a mini-Versailles, is midway between Lisbon and the historic town of Sintra. The 17th century palace of Castelo Rodrigo was transformed into the Royal Palace of Queluz beginning in 1747 under King Pedro. Queluz was the official residence of the royal family until the court moved to Brazil during the Napoleonic era, and again after 1861. Today Queluz is used by the President of the Republic as the guesthouse for state visitors and, occasionally, for special cultural events.


 

THURSDAY, JUNE 1
BERLIN, GERMANY

President Clinton will meet with President Rau and with Chancellor Schroeder.


 

FRIDAY JUNE 2
AACHEN and BERLIN, GERMANY

President Clinton will receive the Charlemagne Prize in Aachen, Germany. While in Aachen, he will also participate in a "Prayer for Peace" in the Aachen Cathedral.

Established in 1949, the Charlemagne Prize is one of Europe’s top honors. It recognizes contributions to European integration and past recipients have included Winston Churchill, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, Vaclav Havel, and Tony Blair. It is being awarded to President Clinton for his contributions to European unity through NATO enlargement, to deepening the EU institutionally and to a Europe with nations that are more united today than at any time in history. President Clinton is the first American president to receive the prize and the third American ever to receive it.

The Cathedral is one of the few buildings in Aachen not to have been severely damaged during World War II. It was inaugurated in 805 (five years after Charlemagne’s coronation.) The architect was Odo von Metz, who reportedly engaged masters and craftsmen from regions throughout Europe. The old Palace Chapel also contains the shrine of Charlemagne and a collection of relics that made it an important station in for pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem, Rome or Santiago de Compostella. Today, it remains an active place of worship.


 

SATURDAY, JUNE 3
BERLIN, GERMANY and MOSCOW, RUSSIA

President Clinton will participate in the Conference on Progressive Governance and travel to Moscow, where he will have a working dinner with President Putin.

Chancellor Schroeder will host several heads of state and government for a conference on "Progressive Governance in the 21st Century." This is the fourth and largest in a series of such gatherings: The first was in New York in September 1998, the second in Washington in April 1999 and the third in Florence in November 1999.


 

SUNDAY, JUNE 4
MOSCOW, RUSSIA

President Clinton and President Putin will hold a series of bilateral meetings at the Kremlin and hold a joint press conference.


 

MONDAY, JUNE 5
MOSCOW, RUSSIA and KIEV, UKRAINE

President Clinton will address the Russian parliament. In Kiev, Ukraine, he will meet with President Kuchma and deliver a speech to the people of Ukraine.

The current State Duma consists of 450 deputies (half are elected directly from single-mandate districts; the other half receive seats in proportion to their party’s nationwide vote.) Each session of the Duma lasts four years. The Third Duma was elected in 1999 and took office in January 2000. The State Duma building, a nine-story structure close to the Kremlin and Red Square, was originally built in the 1930s to house the Sovnarkom (the "Council of People’s Commissars.") It later became the home of Gosplan, the Soviet state planning agency. From the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 until 1993, the building housed the Ministry of Economics. The State Duma now uses this site for its meeting rooms and office space.

Maryinsky Palace in Kiev is used for official receptions and summit meetings. It was constructed in the mid-18th century in anticipation of the visit of Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great. The Royal Garden (now a large park) adjoins the Palace grounds. The Palace was renamed Maryinsky in 1970 when it was renovated for the visit of Emperor Alexander II and his wife Empress Maria. Through its 250-year history, Maryinsky Palace has served a variety of purposes. During the 1812 war against Napoleon, it was used as a field hospital. In the middle of the 19th century, it housed the headquarters of the Kiev Art Society. In 1917, it was the headquarters of the Kiev Workers’ Uprising. The Palace sustained extensive damage during World War II and was rebuilt to its original specifications from 1945-49.

The Mykhailovskyi gold-domed Monastery (St. Michael’s Cathedral) was founded in 1108 by Prince Svyatopolk Izaslavych. Built over a five year period, the monastery became the burial place for Kiev’s princes. The Cathedral, originally adorned with mosaics and frescos, was partially destroyed in 1240, by the Mongols. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Cathedral was reconstructed in the baroque style under the patronage of Ivan Mazepa, who later contested Russian control of Ukraine. The Cathedral was pillaged and destroyed in the 1930s during the Communist regime’s "anti-religion campaign." Some of the original mosaics were preserved in the neighboring St. Sophia Cathedral, while others were taken to art galleries in Moscow and St. Petersburg. St. Michael’s was most recently restored and reopened in 1998.


Home Page


President and First Lady | Vice President and Mrs. Gore
Record of Progress | The Briefing Room
Gateway to Government | Contacting the White House
White House for Kids | White House History
White House Tours | Help | Text Only

Privacy Statement