US embassy unveils Reagan statue in London

Ronald Reagan with Margaret ThatcherRonald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher were close allies during the 1980s
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A statue of former US President Ronald Reagan will be unveiled in central London at a ceremony outside the American embassy.

The invited guests include former UK prime minister Baroness Thatcher – who was a close ally of Reagan when they were both in power in the 1980s.

The 10-foot bronze statue was specially commissioned to “recognise Mr Reagan’s contribution to ending the Cold War”.

A piece of the Berlin Wall will be installed in front of the plinth.

The statue will stand outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square, opposite the statue of President Dwight Eisenhower.

Lady Thatcher famously described Mr Reagan as “the second most important man” in her life.

Foreign Secretary William Hague and former US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice will speak at the unveiling, which falls on US Independence Day.

Mr Reagan famously described the Soviet Union as the “evil empire” and kept up a hardline strategy but he left the White House in January 1989, shortly before the collapse of communism.

Mr Reagan died in 2004, aged 93, after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for many years.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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