Statesmanship Quotes

A politician thinks of the next election; the statesman thinks of the next generation

It is wise statesmanship which suggests that in time of peace we must prepare for war, and it is no less a wise benevolence that makes preparation in the hour of peace for assuaging the ills that are sure to accompany war.

We lost the American colonies because we lacked the statesmanship to know the right time and the manner of yielding what is impossible to keep.

Patience. Patience. Patience. The first, and last, and the middle virtue of a politician.

All good Presidents are supple.

One man's opportunism is another man's statesmanship.

A statesman who keeps his ear permanently glued to the ground will have neither elegance of posture nor flexibility of movement.

The difference between a politician and a statesman is: a politician thinks of the next election and a statesman thinks of the next generation.

Every man in it is a great man—an orator, a critic, a statesman, and therefore every man upon every question must show his oratory, his criticism, and his political abilities. The consequence is that business is drawn and spun out to immeasurable length.

The challenge of statesmanship is to have the vision to dream of a better, safer world and the courage, persistence, and patience to turn that dream into reality.

Since the shock of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's death, I have been reflecting on what made him so special. To my mind, it is simply this: Kofi Annan was both one of a kind and one of us.

The art of governing is a great metier, requiring the whole man, and it is therefore not well for a ruler to have too strong tendencies for other affairs.

Actuated by these motives, and apprehensive of disturbing the repose of an unsettled reign, Julian surprised the world by an edict which was not unworthy of a statesman or a philosopher. He extended to all the inhabitants of the Roman world the benefits of a free and equal toleration; and the only hardship which he inflicted on the Christians was to deprive them of the power of tormenting their fellow-subjects, whom they stigmatised with the odious titles of idolaters and heretics.

Bush doesn't present himself as a realpolitik politician.

True statesmanship is the art of changing a nation from what it is into what it ought to be.

The nation needs a statesman who fears not to meet and who knows how to sway immense masses of the working classes.

Creative betrayal is the essence of successful statesmanship.

I think it better that in times like these a poet's mouth be silent, for in truth we have no gift to set a statesman right.

I was not elected to serve one party but to serve one nation.

That was my first lesson from Ben-Gurion. Then I saw him making peace, and I saw him making war. He mobilized me before the war. The man was a very rare combination between a real intellectual and a born leader. There is a contradiction between the two.

He was what I often think is a dangerous thing for a statesman to be - a student of history; and like most of those who study history, he learned from the mistakes of the past how to make new ones.

Patriotism must be faithful as well as fervent; statesmanship must be wise as well as fearless not the statesmanship which will command the applause of the hour, but the judgment of posterity.

The most brilliant statesman who ever lived, possessing the loftiest and keenest intellect of his time.

[Fidel] Castro was gifted leader who engineered social improvements that benefitted most Cubans, a statesman who placed Cuba at the center of world politics, and a masterful tactician who outlasted ten hostile U. S. Presidents…

When France fell before the Nazi onslaught, in the midst of total war, Mr. Churchill offered union with England to the French. That was indeed a stroke of inspired statesmanship. But when it comes to India? Oh no! Constitutional changes in the midst of a war? Absolutely unthinkable ... The object this time is to free India before the Japanese can come and be ready to fight them if they come. They will round up the leaders, round up all. Then it will be the duty of every Indian to put forth his utmost effort—within non-violence. No source is to be left untapped; no weapon untried. This is going to be the opportunity of a lifetime.