First speech for new Minister of State Didier Guillaume: Monaco must be “an ethical power”
The Minister of State stated that he would put "all his determination and energy into serving the Sovereign Prince" © Communication Department / Frédéric Nebinger
After his speech, Prince Albert II and the Minister of State visited the ‘Monaco Libéré!’ exhibition and saw the new stamp with the effigy of General Frederick.
The day after officially taking office, Didier Guillaume, Monaco’s new Minister of State, made his first public speech on Tuesday evening at the opening of the ‘Monaco Libéré! 3 septembre – 28 décembre 1944’ exhibition, on the forecourt of the Ministry of State.
Advertising
In it he repeatedly demonstrated his determination to serve the Sovereign Prince and, by extension, the Principality, and was attended by a large audience of Monegasque officials and dignitaries including the President of the National Council, Thomas Brezzo, Government Ministers, the Ambassador of France, Jean d’Haussonville, US Ambassador Denise Campbell Bauer, the Mayor of Monaco, Georges Marsan, the Mayor of Beausoleil, Gérard Spinelli, and many others.
A strong commitment to serving the Principality
Didier Guillaume began by expressing what an honour it was to be speaking for the first time as Minister of State, acknowledging the faith Prince Albert II had placed in him. “I will apply all my determination and energy in your service, in the service of the Sovereign Prince, in the service of the beautiful country where I now have the good fortune to officiate,” he declared.
He also shared his long-standing admiration for Monaco and its people: “The Principality’s history has been built over the centuries by the vision of its sovereigns, who constantly strove to work and adapt to the changes in the world around it.”
Monaco: An ethical power, a model of peace
Didier Guillaume echoed the words of Prince Albert II when he expressed a dream for Monaco in his maiden speech as Sovereign. “I had a dream,” said the Minister of State, quoting the Prince’s wish to see Monaco become “a country that creates models: a model of life, a model of development, a model of well-being, a model of peace.” Didier Guillaume stressed his commitment to championing that vision, at the Prince’s side, to ensure that Monaco is “an ethical power, a model power.”
80th anniversary of Monaco’s liberation
The rest of his speech focused more on the exhibition he had come to open with Prince Albert II, inviting the Sovereign to “inaugurate the exhibition in the lobby of the Ministry of State.”
The Minister of State praised the collaborative efforts of different institutions in organising the exhibition, in particular the Mission de Préfiguration des Archives Nationales, the Palace Archives and the Audiovisual Institute. He expressed his gratitude to the exhibition’s curators for their remarkable work, which has “rekindled the memory of historical events that are largely unfamiliar, particularly to the younger generations.”
Didier Guillaume stressed the importance of preserving history, particularly for younger generations who “must take up the baton so that history’s flame does not dim, will never dim,” he urged.
Didier Guillaume concluded his speech by inviting the dignitaries present to visit the exhibition before asking Prince Albert II to join him and showing him “the stamp bearing the effigy of General Frederick, issued by the Principality’s Stamp Office.”