Farewell to a true Statesman

H.E. Shinzo Abe,
The Former PM of Japan

Loosing another friend.

Last week I lost an old friend, whom I deeply admired. Although much is known of him in the media, I remember him mainly for his humility,  sharp sense of humour and his infections smile.
After knowing some world leaders, I was always amazed by PM Abe’s clear minded understanding of world events. He saw approaching threats and was patriotic enough to take steps to protect the future of his country and courageous enough to not get stopped by ‘political correctness’.
To my understanding, it is not an easy task to transform the Japanese Government on topics like Military and Economics, which he successfully accomplished.

Despite of being the leader of one of the world’s Economic giants, he would easily go into deep, open and free discussions. We shared very similar understanding of the weaknesses of the west and its often coloured perceptions of the world. He laughed on himself just as much as he laughed on other political leaders and never shied away from self-criticism.
In my opinion, he was not only a thinker but an implementer. He saw the rising threat of autocratic nations and initiated setting up organisations like QUAD to protect democracies. He had the foresight to invest into relationship with countries like India, which shares the same democratic values.

In conclusion, my friend impacted the world and changed it for the better and left quite a legacy behind. I hope that the leaders of the free world would learn from him, to be modest, courageous and stand for a vision of a strong and democratic world.