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“President Reagan loved this country and provided hope and strong leadership to our nation at an important time in our history. His commitment to winning the Cold War not only preserved American democracy, but also helped bring freedom to so many people in other parts of the world. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Nancy Reagan and the rest of his family at this time.” Reporters’ contacts: Jonathan Swain or Lisa Sirkin, 317-232-4578

LONDON (AP) - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Britain will attend the state funeral for Ronald Reagan. On Monday, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan joined them and many others around the world in mourning the former president, praising his leadership during the Cold War. But some commentators also said that as good as his optimism and charm were for the self-image of the United States, Reagan hatched conservative economic and foreign policies in the Republican Party that some Europeans still regret. "Alongside his firm opposition to Soviet power there...

Former US President Ronald Reagan was remembered across Europe for his role in breaking down Cold War divisions on the continent and opening the path to independence for Soviet bloc nations. Russians recalled Reagan's tough rhetoric and how he launched a withering arms race that precipitated the collapse of the Soviet Union, which Reagan famously dubbed an "evil empire". Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev hailed Reagan as a great US president and said he was distraught by news of his death Saturday at age 93. "I take very hard the death of Ronald Reagan, a man whom by fate sat...

Ronald Reagan not only had a wonderful sense of humor when it came to his adversaries, he could also laugh at himself when was the butt of a good deed gone awry, said former Attorney General Ed Meese In an exclusive interview with Fox News, Meese recalled an incident concerning the White House correspondence section which answers letters sent to the president. "When he was president he would have the correspondence section give him about 30 letters every month that he would answer personally. They came from all kinds of people. One particular day he got a letter from a...

June 7, 2004 -- President Bush yesterday hailed Ronald Reagan as a "great president" who could light up a room just by walking in and make everyone feel at home. "There was something unbelievably charismatic about him," Bush recalled. "People loved to be in his presence. And they [saw] how calm he was. And relaxed. He was a very relaxed person. He didn't take himself so seriously that he got kinda bunched up in his airs," Bush told NBC anchor Tom Brokaw. "I remember the stories my dad would tell of his great sense of humor. He had a wonderful...

Bush, Rumsfeld, Powell Offer Condolences on Reagan's Death By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USAAmerican Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, June 6, 2004 -- President Bush called the news of former President Ronald Reagan's death "a sad hour in the life of America." "A great American life has come to an end," Bush noted. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell also joined the many offers of condolence. The former president died of pneumonia June 5 in California. He was 93 and had Alzheimer's disease. Bush's words came during his trip to Europe to commemorate D-Day celebrations...

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued the following statement Saturday on the death of former President Ronald Reagan: "I am deeply saddened by the passing of President Reagan. He was a great American patriot. I did not just admire him, I was fortunate enough to know him. He was a hero to me. "Ronald Reagan called America the shining city on the hill. And by the force of his leadership and optimism, he renewed the promise of America. He had the courage to tell us that it was all right to stand tall and believe in our country and believe in...

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev recalls the many times he met with Ronald Reagan, who died Saturday in California, and how they formed a friendship that altered world history. Despite former President Reagan's tough anti-Soviet views, he and Mr. Gorbachev came to like and respect each other. Yet, despite this, he forged a close working relationship with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who took power soon after Mr. Reagan's second term started in 1985. Together, the two men initiated a dialogue that changed world history. The former Soviet leader praised Mr. Reagan in an interview on Echo of Moscow radio...

BERN, Switzerland - Pope John Paul II paid tribute Sunday to former President Ronald Reagan, recalling his efforts to bring down communism that "changed the lives of millions of people," a Vatican spokesman said. On the second-day of a 32-hour pilgrimage to Switzerland, John Paul learned of Reagan's death with "sadness" and immediately prayed for the "eternal rest of his soul," said papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls. The pope and the Reagan White House worked closely in the 1980s in efforts to promote the Solidarity labor movement in the pope's native Poland and to end the Soviet grip on eastern Europe....

Former Reagan Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger said Sunday that it was Ronald Reagan's staunch anti-Communism and determination to rebuild the military that "literally redeemed the country and helped save the world." Weinberger recalled to WABC Radio's Steve Malzberg: "When [Reagan] made his Evil Empire speech - that the Soviet Union was an Evil Empire that had to be destroyed and they couldn't coexist with us - one diplomat complained to him, 'You have destroyed 20-years of patient diplomatic effort with that one speech.' " But the former President responded, according to his former defense chief, "Yes. And where did that...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The following is a statement from Dr. Billy Graham on the death of Ronald Reagan: Ronald Reagan was one of my closest personal friends for many years. Ruth and I spent a number of nights at the White House and had hundreds of hours of conversation with the President and First Lady. Mr. Reagan had a religious faith deeper than most people knew. Nancy is one of the strongest and most dedicated women I have ever known. She and the children have my love and prayers. The President was a man of tremendous integrity, based on his...

EUFAULA, Okla. -- GOPAC Chairman and former Oklahoma Congressman J.C. Watts, Jr., issued the following statement concerning today's death of President Ronald Reagan: "I was not a Republican when Ronald Reagan was President, but he sure got my attention. I was in my 20s, and like many Democrats, I did a gut check in the 1980s when President Reagan put to words the convictions of my heart. In many ways, President Reagan inspired me to become a Republican. "President Reagan cultivated my homegrown conservative values through his message of hope, peace through strength, and economic opportunity for all. He rallied...

PLAINS, Ga. - Former President Jimmy Carter said Sunday he joins the rest of the nation in mourning the loss of former President Ronald Reagan, the man who defeated him in the 1980 presidential election. "This is a sad day for our country," Carter said before teaching Sunday school at his church, Maranatha Baptist Church, in his hometown of Plains. "I probably know as well as anybody what a formidable communicator and campaigner that President Reagan was. It was because of him that I was retired from my last job." Carter normally issues statements through the Carter Center in Atlanta,...

BERLIN (AP) - Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl praised Ronald Reagan on Sunday as "a great friend of the Germans" for his role in bringing down communism and ending Europe's Cold War division. Kohl said he would never forget standing next to the U.S. president in 1987 when Reagan challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall," the last high point of Cold War rhetoric in West Berlin. "Ronald Reagan was a man who achieved great things for his country," Kohl said in a statement. "He was a stroke of luck for the world, especially for Europe." Reagan stood...

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) - Moammar Gadhafi expressed regret Sunday that President Ronald Reagan died before standing trial for 1986 American air strikes that killed the Libyan leader's adopted daughter and 36 other people. Reagan ordered the April 15, 1986, air raid in response to a discotheque bombing in Berlin allegedly ordered by Gadhafi that killed two U.S. soldiers and a Turkish woman and injured 229 people. "I express my deep regret because Reagan died before facing justice for his ugly crime that he committed in 1986 against the Libyan children," Libya's official JANA news agency quoted Gadhafi as saying. JANA,...

<p>"Betty and I are deeply saddened by the passing of our longtime friend, President Reagan. Ronald Reagan was an excellent leader of our nation during challenging times at home and abroad. We extend our deepest condolences and prayers to Nancy and his family."</p>

New York -- "I learned about principle, I learned about kindness, I learned about humor. Ronald Reagan was unfailingly courteous to the people around him, thoughtful to the little guy, the elevator operator, the butler at the White House." George H.W. Bush is calling up memories from his years as Reagan's political mate, Vice President and friend, TIME' s Hugh Sidey writes in the magazine's special commemorative issue, Ronald Reagan 1911-2004 (on newsstands Monday, June 7th). Bush shapes a private picture of a man he learned to love and admire, and the one he finally felt comfortable calling Ron. But...

From all corners of the planet, the eulogies streamed in - a torrent of words for the president known as the Great Communicator, the man who aimed his message at regular people and whose enemies and friends agreed changed the world."Ronald Reagan needs no one to sing his praises," Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said. But they did anyway. The 40th president's death evoked a world of remembrances Saturday from friends, Republican political soulmates and opponents who squared off against him."A man who changed history," said U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., whose party spent 12 years trying to reclaim the...

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has paid tribute to former US President Ronald Reagan, who died today aged 93. "I feel deep regret," said the last Soviet leader, who met Mr Reagan on the sidelines of a meeting in Geneva in 1985 before the two held a historic summit in Reykjavik the following year as Mr Reagan launched a series of meetings that led to an easing of tensions, and eventually to the Soviet Union's collapse. "For me, Ronald Reagan is a great president," Mr Gorbachev told Moscow Echo radio. He said that Mr Reagan appeared at the right place...

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said Sunday he was distressed by the death of former President Ronald Reagan, with whom he held complicated and tense talks in the fading years of the Cold War. "I take very hard the death of Ronald Reagan, a man whom by fate sat with me in perhaps the most difficult years at the end of the 20th century," Gorbachev told reporters at the Gorbachev Foundation, a non-governmental analytical institute that he has run since 1992. Those were years, Gorbachev said, "when everyone felt that we lived under the threat of nuclear conflict." Despite Reagan's...