03 March 2005
More than thirty (30) Heads of State and Ministers from around the world will attend the historic inauguration of Yad Vashem’s new Holocaust History Museum on March 15, 2005. The inaugural event will take place over two days, on March 15 - 16th 2005 at Yad Vashem under the patronage of the President of the State of Israel, Mr. Moshe Katzav and in the presence of world leaders.
According to Chairman of Yad Vashem Avner Shalev, the impressive array of high level foreign delegations attending the inauguration “illustrates the importance world leaders place on Holocaust remembrance, and highlights the vital role Yad Vashem plays in achieving the common goal of remembering the past, and shaping the future - by helping fight antisemitism and standing up for the values of human rights and democracy.”
Leaders who attend the inauguration ceremonies include:
- UN Secretary General Kofi Annan
- Presidents of Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia & Montenegro, and Switzerland
- Prime Ministers of France, Sweden, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Romania
- Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- Vice President of the Dominican Republic
- Foreign Ministers of Germany, Norway, and Spain
- National Security Advisor of the Russian Federation
- Defense Minister of the Czech Republic
- Education Ministers of Greece, Latvia and Slovenia
- Minister of Transport of Canada
- State Secretary of Austria
- Minister of Information and Communications of Hungary
- A representative of the Vatican.
Press arrangements for the events of March 15 - 16 will be issued separately. A decade in the making, the new museum is the pinnacle of Yad Vashem’s multiyear development plan and presents the story of the Shoah in an informational and experiential format. Spanning some 4,200 square meters, the new museum is four times the size of the current historical museum, which it is replacing. It will open to the public at the end of March.
