History
The IADC, located on Fort Lesley J. McNair, was formally opened on 9 October 1962 when the Honorable Dean Rusk, then Secretary of State of the United States, presented the building and furnishings donated by the United States Government. Doctor Jose A. Mora, then Secretary General of the Organization of American States, was the principal speaker at the opening ceremony. The first class, with 29 students representing 15 American republics, received their diplomas on 20 March 1963 with then Vice President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, giving the graduation address and awarding diplomas.
Since its opening more than 2,000 students have graduated from the IADC, of which many have gone on to become presidents, cabinet ministers, ambassadors, or general officers for their respective nations. In January 2006, Class 37 graduate Michelle Bachelet was elected president of Chile, becoming the second IADC graduate to be elected to presidential office, after Lucio Gutiérrez of Ecuador.
Read more about this topic: Inter-American Defense College
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Three million of such stones would be needed before the work was done. Three million stones of an average weight of 5,000 pounds, every stone cut precisely to fit into its destined place in the great pyramid. From the quarries they pulled the stones across the desert to the banks of the Nile. Never in the history of the world had so great a task been performed. Their faith gave them strength, and their joy gave them song.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)
“It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature.”
—Henry James (1843–1916)
“Regarding History as the slaughter-bench at which the happiness of peoples, the wisdom of States, and the virtue of individuals have been victimized—the question involuntarily arises—to what principle, to what final aim these enormous sacrifices have been offered.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)