Boutros Boutros-Ghali
politician, diplomat, writer, jurist, university teacher
Read on Wikipedia1922 – 2016
All Quotes by Boutros Boutros-Ghali
“The failure of the United Nations - My failure is maybe, in retrospective, that I was not enough aggressive with the members of the Security Council.”
“Since the creation of the United Nations in 1945, over 100 major conflicts around the world have left some 20 million dead.”
“The lesson I learned in Cairo still applies. The only way to deal with bureaucrats is with stealth and sudden violence.”
“There are signs that the system of collective security established in San Francisco nearly 50 years ago [at the founding of the UN] is finally beginning to work as conceived .\xa0.\xa0. We are on the way to achieving a workable international system.”
“Only stupid people don't change their minds.”
“I believe it will take time to find a solution to the problem. Thus we must have patience.”
“The days of dictatorship are over. … We have come a long way. Millions of Egyptians and Iraqis have cast their votes at the ballot box. The Palestinians will follow suit.”
“While the broad principles of democracy are universal, the fact remains that their application varies considerably … We are at the beginning of the road, at the very beginning. We still have a long way to go.”
“Cultural pluralism is as important as political and multi- party pluralism. Religious, linguistic and cultural pluralism are vitally important hallmarks of a true democracy. We are against cultural hegemony of any sort. Diversity is a mark of a healthy democracy.”