前西德總理施密特逝世 Former West German chancellor Helmut Schmidt dies
Helmut Schmidt, the former West German chancellor who steered his country through the world economic crisis and cold war tension of the 1970s and early 1980s has died at the age of 96.
前西德總理、在上世紀70年代至80年代初帶領國家挺過世界經濟危機和冷戰緊張局勢的赫爾穆特施密特(Helmut Schmidt)去世，享年96歲。
Of the six chancellors who led West Germany between the end of the second world war and its 1990 reunification with the east, none wore the mantle of statesmanship at home and abroad with more poise and more trenchant professionalism than Schmidt.
在從第二次世界大戰結束至1990年兩德統一的那段時期主政西德的六名總理中，沒有第二個人做得到像施密特那樣，以沉着以及犀利的專業精神在國內外扮演政治家的角色。
Angela Merkel, the current chancellor, praised Schmidt as a man who had “rendered outstanding service to his country”. She said she often sought his advice, and had visited him in Hamburg as recently as last year.
現任德國總理安格拉默克爾(Angela Merkel)稱讚施密特“爲國家提供了傑出的服務”。她說，她經常徵求他的意見，就在去年還去漢堡拜訪了他。
“He was a political institution,” Ms Merkel said.
“他是一個政治名人，”默克爾說。
Ms Merkel singled out how Schmidt had dealt with the challenge of terrorism in 1970s Germany, supported the deployment of Pershing cruise missiles in western Europe in the 1980s, a controversial decision that put strains on his Social Democratic party (SPD), and helped to launch the European Monetary System in 1979.
默克爾提到了施密特如何在上世紀70年代應對德國面臨的恐怖主義挑戰，在80年代支持在西歐部署潘興(Pershing)彈道導彈（那是一個有爭議的決定，使他所在的社民黨(SPD)受到壓力），並在1979年幫助啓動歐洲貨幣體系(European Monetary System)。
She called him “one of the fathers of summit diplomacy”, noting that he and the French president Giscard d’Estaing had held one of the world’s first economic summits 40 years ago.
默克爾形容施密特是“峯會外交的鼻祖之一”，指出他與時任法國總統的吉斯卡爾德斯坦(Giscard d’Estaing)在40年前舉行了世界上最早的經濟峯會之一。
When he succeeded Willy Brandt in 1974 as the country’s second Social Democrat chancellor, Schmidt — a former defence and finance minister — brought a wealth of experience to his office and quickly developed authority on the world stage.
當他在1974年接替維利勃蘭特(Willy Brandt)，成爲西德第二位社民黨總理時，曾擔任國防部長和財政部長的施密特帶來了豐富的經驗，在世界舞臺上迅速樹立了威信。
The centre-left Social Democrat led West Germany from 1974 to 1982, when he lost power to conservative Helmut Kohl. His leadership qualities, like his principles, were turned to the best advantage of his country and of Europe.
中間偏左的社民黨從1974年起主政西德至1982年，那年施密特敗在保守的赫爾穆特科爾(Helmut Kohl)手下。施密特的領袖氣質和他的原則一樣，成爲他的國家乃至整個歐洲的最佳優勢。
Schmidt’s straight-talking, sometimes moralistic political style was influenced by a conviction that his country had to build on the most stringent lessons from the catastrophe of the war.
施密特直話直說、有時近乎道德說教的政治風格背後的信念是，他的國家必須在汲取戰爭災難所帶來的最嚴厲教訓的基礎上謀求發展。
His view was that the shadow of Hitler and Auschwitz obliged Germany to promote European integration and international stability.
他的觀點是，希特勒和奧斯維辛集中營的陰影使德國有義務推動歐洲一體化和國際穩定。
One his best-known sayings, which summed up his gritty, pragmatic side and suspicion of ideologues was “whoever has a vision should go and visit a doctor”. Schmidt went on to become an iconic elder statesman, weighing in on Germany’s political debates into his 90s.
他最愛說的一句話是“有想象力的人都應該去看醫生”，這句話道出了他堅強務實的一面，以及他對空想家的懷疑。施密特後來成爲一個偶像般的元老級政治家，在90多歲時仍然影響着德國的政治辯論。
The Suddeutsche newspaper said in an obituary: “As a politician, Helmut Schmidt was a crisis manager and global economist. As a pensioner, he was a publicist and elder statesman. After he was voted out of the chancellery, his popularity rose from year to year.”
《南德意志報》(Suddeutsche)的訃告稱：“作爲一個政治人物，赫爾穆特施密特是一位危機管理者和全球經濟學家。作爲一名退休的人，他是一個公關專家和元老級政治家。在他被選民們逐出總理府之後，他的人氣一年比一年高。”
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, foreign minister, said: “We Germans have lost a father figure ... Helmut Schmidt was not only a chancellor of the Germans -— he was a mentor of the Germans.”
德國外長弗蘭克-瓦爾特施泰因邁爾(Frank-Walter Steinmeier)表示：“我們德國人失去了一個父親般的人物……赫爾穆特施密特不僅是德國人的總理，他還是德國人的導師。”
Mr Steinmeier praised Schmidt’s global vision, saying he “always saw Germany in Europe and Europe on the world stage”. He joked about Schmidt’s love of smoking, saying: “ Helmut Schmidt was a great statesman down to his last cigarette.”
施泰因邁爾稱讚施密特的全球視野，稱他“總是在歐洲的舞臺上看待德國，在世界舞臺上看待歐洲”。他調侃了施密特的煙癮，稱：“赫爾穆特施密特直到抽最後一根菸的時候仍是一位偉大的政治家。”
Hans-Dietrich Genscher, a former German foreign minister, said: “We know that Germany has become poorer, and we feel that we will miss him again and again ... For me, Helmut Schmidt’s death marks the parting from a companion in difficult times.”
德國前外長漢斯-迪特里希根舍(Hans-Dietrich Genscher)表示：“我們知道德國遭受了無可挽回的損失，我們覺得我們會一次又一次懷念他……對我而言，赫爾穆特施密特的逝世標誌着在困難的時候告別一位同伴。”
Sigmar Gabriel, head of the SPD said: “Helmut Schmidt embodied in the best sense of the word the international tradition of social democracy ... we will miss his judgment, his world view and his advice. We grieve for Helmut Schmidt and are proud that he was one of us.”
社民黨主席西格馬爾加布里爾(Sigmar Gabriel)表示：“赫爾穆特施密特體現了國際社會民主傳統的精華……我們會想念他的判斷力，他的世界觀和他的高見。我們哀悼赫爾穆特施密特，並對他曾經是我黨的一員感到自豪。”
