UK leaders pay tribute to Reagan

Monday, 7 June 2004 12:00 AM

Leading UK politicians have paid tribute to former US President Ronald Reagan who died at the weekend aged 93.

Mr Reagan has not appeared in public for a number of years after announcing he was suffering from Alzheimer's.

President from 1980 to1989 Mr Reagan dedicated his tenure in office to fighting Communism and introducing a new economic monetarism.

His reign saw sweeping tax cuts, increased military spending and a record US deficit.

Mr Reagan's close personal friendship with Margaret Thatcher led to the establishment of the "special relationship" between the UK and America.

Baroness Thatcher, who will be attending the funeral, paid tribute to her erstwhile ally.

She said: "Ronald Reagan had a higher claim than any other leader to have won the Cold War for liberty, and he did it without a shot being fired.

"To have achieved so much against so many odds and with such humour and humanity made Ronald Reagan a truly great American hero.

"President Reagan was one of my closest political and dearest personal friends.

"He will be missed not only by those who knew him, and not only by the nation that he served so proudly and loved so deeply, but also by millions of men and women who live in freedom today because of the policies he pursued."

Prime Minister Tony Blair said: "At home, his vision and leadership restored national self-confidence and brought some significant changes to US politics.

"Abroad, the negotiations of arms control agreements in his second term and his statesmanlike pursuit of more stable relations with the Soviet Union helped bring about the end of the Cold War."

President Bush has declared Friday as a national day of mourning.

There will be an official state funeral in Washington and all federal agencies, other than those responsible for essential security work, will close.

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