Statement from American Nuclear Society President Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar and CEO Craig Piercy
ANS remembers the life of George P. Shultz and mourns his passing. A nonproliferation hero and renowned statesman, Shultz leaves behind a legacy that will continue to inspire for generations to come.
As U.S. Secretary of State, Shultz was paramount in achieving a peaceful end to the Cold War and shepherding landmark arms control agreements with the Soviet Union, including the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987.
In retirement, Shultz continued to push for a world free of nuclear weapons and became a strong advocate in mitigating climate change as well. In 2015, ANS’s Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy Division honored the former Secretary of State by awarding him the first Dwight D. Eisenhower Award.
At ANS’s 2020 Virtual Winter Meeting held this past November, Shultz warned of the dangers that we continue to face, including a new arms race. Shultz urged that we must “realize how different the world ahead of us is and to adapt ourselves so that we don't get trapped into a tit-for-tat, escalating situation, which winds up ruining us.”
Our thoughts today are with Charlotte and the Shultz family.