HOW ABOUT HELMUT?:

Mulroney, Clarkson to attend Reagan funeral (CBC, 07 Jun 2004)

Sources familiar with the funeral planning say Reagan's widow, Nancy, invited former prime minister Brian Mulroney to speak at the funeral, which is set for Friday in Washington. [...]

Mulroney and Reagan became close when they led their countries during the 1980s.

Playing up their mutual Irish roots, they famously sang "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" on stage together at the so-called Shamrock Summit in Quebec City in 1985./blockquote>
Nakasone to attend Reagan funeral (Japan Times, 6/08/04)

Tokyo will dispatch former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone as its special envoy for the funeral of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, which will be held in Washington later this week, the top government spokesman said Monday.

Nakasone, who served as prime minister from 1982 to 1987, was known in Japan for his close relationship with Reagan. The two became friendly enough to call each other by their nicknames, "Ron" and "Yasu."

"We asked him (to go) since Prime Minister (Junichiro) Koizumi judged that he is the most appropriate person to express the condolences of the (Japanese) people," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said.

Thatcher Arrives Tuesday for Last Meeting (NewsMax.com, 6/07/04)

Lady Thatcher will deliver a eulogy at Ronald Reagan's funeral Friday.

Contrary to press reports, Lady Thatcher's health is good. She would not have made the trip otherwise, a source close to Thatcher tells NewsMax.com.

But Lady Thatcher's aides insisted that she not be stressed by giving a live address at the National Cathedral service for Reagan.

Instead, Lady Thatcher has taped her 10-minute eulogy -- which is now slated to be one of the key highlights of the state funeral.

In recent years, Lady Thatcher, has given up formal public speaking on the advice of her doctors and has curtailed her international travel.

But the Iron Lady was anxious to be with Nancy Reagan to bid farewell to her fellow Cold Warrior.

Typically, only France was led by someone who hadn't figured out the necessity of winning the Cold War during those years.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 8, 2004 9:00 AM