“I did not have sexual relations with that women” Bill Clinton

Emperor Hirohito’s surrender speech “the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan’s advantage”

FDR's address after Pearl Harbor, and the line everyone remembers "a date which will live in infamy," is pretty iconic.

John F Kennedy also has his iconic Moon speech, “We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." President FDR is about equal to Kennedy in the amount of iconic speeches

Theodore Roosevelt's speech where he said “Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot.” is an iconic one.

"Españoles, Franco ha muerto." is probably the most famous speech in Spain. It translates to "Spaniards, Franco has died." It was broadcast through the radio in 1975. The line has seeped into popular culture and has been memeified to a great extent. Came as quite a shocker after close on 40 years of dictatorship, and opened the doors to democratic reform.

When you mentioned the Berlin Wall I was waiting for the Reagan quote. “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

"If the punishment for disobeying a law is a fine, then this law is for the poor" Andreas Papandreou, former Greek prime minister.

You forgot “The day that will live in infamy” speech of FDR, “Tear down this wall” from Reagan, and “We choose to go to the moon” from JFK. For Japan I’d say the Hirohito surrender speech given where it was one of the first times the Japanese people heard their emperor. Nelson Mandela’s “I am prepared to die” is also very important to South Africa. King George VI’s “WW2” speech is also very important in the UK.

"There's an old saying in Tennessee-I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee-that says, Fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me-you can't get fooled again."

"I'm never gonna give you up" Rick Astley

Prime Minister David Lange’s, “I can smell the uranium on your breath” remark at the Oxford union debate about nuclear weapons is pretty firmly implanted in the New Zealand public conscious.

“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people and neither do we." G.W. Bush

In Brazilian History there is the “I am staying” speech. The royal family of Portugal had made Brazil into the new center of the Portuguese empire while running away from Napoleon. After the war, there was a revolution in Portugal that demanded the return of the royal family and to move the capital back to Lisbon. The king submitted and returned, but left the prince heir in Brazil, Dom Pedro. The Brazilian elites were afraid of the new revolutionary Portuguese government to revoke all progress and privileges they had gained and so they began trying to convince the prince to adopt the cause of Brazilian autonomy and sovereignty. The Portuguese government eventually demanded the return of Dom Pedro, and the elites scrambled to convince him to disobey the orders and stay. These efforts culminated in a mob forming in front of Dom Pedro’s place begging him to stay, witch finally did the trick. After having allegedly cried from the demonstration of support towards him, he made the “I’m staying’ speech, calling out the government’s slights against Brazil and that he stood by the Brazilians over the government. The most famous part of the speech is a simplified version of the last line that gained huge popularity and pretty much every Brazilian knows: “If it’s for the good of all and the general happiness of the nation, tell the people that I’ll stay!” That speech seals his commitment with the Brazilian elites and independence would follow only a few months later, also by his hand.

While I'm not from the UK I think Churchill's "In all of history never before has so much been owed to somany by so few" line as a response to the Battle of Britain to be pretty Iconic.

"Four score and seven years ago" An incredible and fundamental speech given by one of the greatest American Presidents to have ever lived after the Battle of Gettysburg, dedicating the fallen, and the Union cause, as well as the hope for Liberty for all men.

My personal favorite is JFK’s “We choose to go to the moon” speech. Also FDR’s “A day which will live in infamy” speech

You never mentioned the “Ladies and gentleman, we got em.” For the USA

"I have a dream" speech always makes me tear up even though I'm not even American...such a noble sentiment represented MLK Jr.

The Pierre Trudeau “Just watch me” interview always stuck with me as a Canadian. I think it really represents how intense the FLQ era in Canada really was!

No love for “I am not a crook” and “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” huh?

“We live in a land down under” - Men At Work. Australia.

For Australia, when Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was dismissed (Wrongfully) by the Governor General John Kerr, he famously proclaimed on the steps of parliament house in our capital "Well may we say God save the Queen, because nothing will save the Governor General!" Easily the most iconic line in an Australian speech

“If my words and science contradict, choose science.” “My mortal body will of course some day become soil, but The Republic of Turkey will always remain as whole.” “Soveirgnity is not given, it is taken.” “Peace in home, peace in the world.” -Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

For India, I think the most iconic speech would be "Tryst with Destiny" given by our first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The speech was given at eve of our independence at midnight. One iconic line from it is "At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom". It is very much sentimentalized in India and also taught in the schools. The speech is in English. You can read it.

One of the most iconic speeches in Germany is Walter Ulbrichts "Niemand hat die Absicht, eine Mauer zu errichten!" (Noone has the intention of building a wall) and the two months later the Berlin wall was errected. Edit: It was actually a press conference and not a speech..

As an anglophone Quebecker, the first famous (or rather infamous) speech that came to mind was Charles De Gaul’s “Vive le Quebec libre” speech he gave on his visit to Canada.

For France, Charles de Gaulle's speeches are probably up there. His appeal of the 18th of June: 'Whatever happens, the flame of the French resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished.'. His speech at the liberation of Paris: 'Paris! Paris outraged! Paris broken! Paris martyred! But Paris liberated!'. Or his speech in Algiers in 1958: 'I understood you'

Don’t forget Rocky Balboa’s “everyone can change” after he defeated Ivan Drago in Moscow on Christmas Day in 1985.

"The future of our nation is in our children's schoolbags" - Dr. Eric Williams, Trinidad & Tobago 🇹🇹.

The Gettysburg address "... Of the people, by the people, and for the people.."

In Poland our most famous speech has to be this: "Peace is a precious and a desirable thing. Our generation, bloodied in wars, certainly deserves peace. But peace, like almost all things of this world, has its price, a high but a measurable one. We in Poland do not know the concept of peace at any price. There is only one thing in the lives of men, nations and countries that is without price. That thing is honor.". It was spoken by Józef Beck, Foreign Relations Minister on 5th of May 1939 after rejection of Hitler's demands for Poland to become Germany's puppet. The rejection of Hitler's proposition basically lead to the beginning of WW2 so that speech is super important...

In France there is the speech of de Gaulle with his famous "Je vous ai compris" or "I have understood you" in the whole context of the Algerian war of Independence and then in Catalonia, after President Josep Tarradellas returned from exile in 1977 he said his famous words "Ya soc aqui" meaning "I am here now" marking a stone point of Spanish democratic transition.

"At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom." - Nehru's speech on India's independence.

“Today I come bearing an olive branch in one hand, and the freedom fighter's gun in the other. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. I repeat, do not let the olive branch fall from my hand.” - Yasser Arafat

America's top 10 (Keep in mind I'm taking into account the memorability of the iconic quote and the memorability of the entire speech): 1: "I have a dream" -Martin Luther King Junior at the Lincoln Memorial during civil rights movement 2: "One small step for man" -Neil Armstrong after stepping foot on the moon for the first time 3: "Four score and 7 years ago" -Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg following a crucial win for the Union during the American Civil War 4: "A date which will live in infamy" -Franklin Roosevelt declaring war on Japan the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor 5: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" -John F. Kennedy during his inaugural address right after becoming president 6: "Mister Gorbachev, tear down this wall" -Ronald Reagan daring reformist leader of the Soviet Union Gorbachev to end the division of Berlin 7: "Ich bin ein Berliner" -John F. Kennedy giving a speech in Berlin during the Cold War 8: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" -Franklin Roosevelt during his inaugural address at the time of the Great Depression 9: "We choose to go to the moon" -John F. Kennedy declaring the United States will land a man on the moon before the end of the decade 10: "Slipped the surly bonds of earth, to touch the face of God" -Ronald Reagan addressing the nation after the explosion of the Challenger Space Craft Honorable mentions: "I've been to the mountaintop" -Martin Luther King Junior's final speech before being assassinated in which he predicted his early death "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away slowly" -Douglass MacArthur after resigning/being fired from the Korean War "I will die on my feet, before I'll live in my knees" -George Washington quoting Euripides during the American Revolution "Military industrial complex" -Dwight Eisenhower's farewell address warning of the powers of the military industry

An American one you missed is Reagan’s Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall speech

FDR’s “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” from his first inauguration I would say is pretty iconic too

"We in Poland do not know the concept of peace at any price. There is only one thing in the lives of men, nations and countries that is without price. That thing is honor" One of the most rememberd speeches here in Poland. It was made by foreign policy minister Joseph Beck in 1939. Final refusal to german demands. A prelude to WW2.

I can't say for most of the world but another particular Churchill one was: "Never in the course of human history, has so much been owed to so few."

"Romanians, in the hardest hour of our history I have decided, in full agreement with my people, that there is but one way to save the nation from total disaster: our exit from the alliance with the Axis powers and the immediate cessation of the war with the United Nations" - king Michael I of Romania, August 23rd 1944

"let's talk about Canada's famous speeches" and proceeds to say "I'm sorry" as the first line

Sir Robert Menzies, Australia's longest serving Prime Minister's 1942 speech 'The Forgotten People', a speech recognising the Australian middle class as "the backbone of this country."

France 18th of June speech by Charles de Gaulle: the most famous speech done by the most popular French politician. Although it's not to my knowledge quotable it nearly instantly made him the face of free France and put him on route to being the single most influential person in modern French history. He went from a no name mid ranking soldier to the de facto President in one speech.

"Restoring the Welsh language in Wales is nothing less than a revolution. It is only through revolutionary means that we can succeed" - Saunders Lewis in his 'Tynged yr Iaith' radio speech delivered in 1962. The 'Tynged yr Iaith' ('The Fate of the Language') speech is credited by many as being single-handedly responsible for saving the Welsh language from terminal decline. Saunders Lewis, who was the first leader of Plaid Cymru (the Welsh Nationalist Party), predicted the extinction of the language if direct action was not taken to defend it. The speech proved to be the catalyst for the formation of the Welsh Language Society, which heeded the call for direct action and has campaigned for the promotion of the language ever since. The speech raised public consciousness of the decline of the language, particularly among Welsh speaking communities, and led to the establishment of a Welsh language TV station (S4C) in the 1980s and paved the way for the Welsh Language Act 1993, which effectively made Wales an officially bilingual nation. In the 21st century, the number of Welsh speakers is growing rather than falling, something most people credit to Lewis and his call for 'revolutionary means' to save the language. Here's the full speech (in Welsh but English subtitles) with an additional piece at the end explaining it's impact in greater detail: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eNShrM99qMucZYU.html (27:19 mins for the famous 'revolutionary means' line)

Australia: “God save the queen, because nobody will save the Governor General” - Gough Whitlam

Dolores Ibárruri's "No pasarán" speech is perhaps one of the most iconic Spanish speeches, while also becoming rather famous internationally

Pierre Trudeau’s “Just Watch me “ Is up there also “No place for the state in the nations bedrooms” And lee kuan yew of Singapore’s Merdeka speech is also up there Those 3 are relatively iconic.

The king of Sweden held a speech where he started with "dear people of Örebro" the only problem was that he wasn't in Örebro, he was in another town called Arboga.

The "Vive le Québec libre!" speech is definitely interesting considering it was delivered by president Charles de Gaulle of France. It caused a diplomatic incident at the time, then its most famous line went on the be the slogan of the Quebec sovereignty movement.

As an Arab who was born and raised in Quebec I’m still extremely salty at Parizeau for that quote

Cato the elder in the Roman Senate:“Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam“, issued more than 2200 years ago, still quoted and Carthago is still destroyed....😉😅😂

An iconic speech that China is trying super super hard to suppress: Zhao Ziyang’s “We are already old” speech at Tiananmen in 1989. Zhao was the General Secretary of the communist party at the time. His speech to the students who were on a hunger strike was intended to be conciliatory and frank, expressing concern for their health and well being, but it was largely seen as being supportive of the student protestors by the government, which eventually led to his house arrest and censorship.

Germany: "Travelling is allowed... effective immediately" as a good one, or on the negative side Goebbel's total war

How about this one - "I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have Mexico pay for that wall." - Donald J. Trump

In Sweden one of the most memorable and quotable speeches in political history is the one made by formerly moderate prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt which came to be known as the "Öppna Era Hjärtan" (Open your hearts speech). The speech was given during the 2015 migrant crisis, addressing the swedish people and asking them to open their hearts and accept these new people fleeing from violence and hate. It really didn't end well since theres a bit of anti immigrant sentiment in Sweden now (unfortunetly). A bit more back in time, former social democratic prime minister Olof Palme made a speech while he was minister of education in a park by the name of "Almedalen" on the swedish island of Gotland. Since then, every august there has been a big political gathering and subsequent speech week in that same park where every political party and aspect of swedish society is represented. Olof Palme is remembered as being one of the most memorable prime ministers of Sweden since he is the only one to ever have been assasinated.

Padraig Pearse's "Ireland unfree shall never be at peace" speech is probably one of the top irish contenders

"Yo veo un México con hambre y sed de justicia..." (I see a Mexico with hunger and thirst for justice) By the Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio on March 6th, 1994. It really resonated with the public in that he wasn't just another crooked politician, that he indeed worried about the everyday Mexican, including the Indigenous. Ultimately this distanced himself from his party. He was assassinated 17 days later.

Another American speech I would say is one of the more memorable and melancholy ones in recent memory is Lou Gehrig’s departure speech. Particularly the line: “But today, I consider myself…the luckiest man…on the face of the earth.”

Spain: "Españoles, Franco ha muerto" (Spaniards, Franco has died) It was the end of the Francoist dictatorship and the beginning of a new democratic era.

Three speeches in Germany stand out and embody our history in the 20th century: 1) The infamous Sportpalast speech by Joseph Goebbels ("Wollt ihr den totalen Krieg?" - Do you want total war?) - the most famous speech of the 3rd Reich - ironically not delivvered by Hitler who despite being famous for his speeches has never given a particularly iconic one. Mainly because he was near incomprehensible in his screaming and more famous for his wild eratic delivery style. 2) The speech by Walter Ulbricht, head of the DDR government "Niemand hat die Absicht eine Mauer zu errichten." - No one has the intention to build a wall." - just a couple of months before the Berlin wall was built. And finally 3) the speech by Günther Schabowski, member of the SED-politburo on 9 November 1989 that unintentionally led to the fall of the Berlin wall. He was given a rather dull speech about the new travel policies. Then a reporter asked him when these policies come into effect and his answer was the iconic „Das tritt nach meiner Kenntnis … ist das sofort, unverzüglich." - "To the best of my knowledge... is that immediately... without delay." And basically the whole of East Berlin got up and left. (Edit: Added the quote by Schabowski)

South Africa undeniably has the "Never, Never and Never again" speech by Nelson Mandela. It is synonymous with the end of the apartheid regime and is very well known and sentimental in South Africa.

Hey man it was a pleasure running into you at the coffee shop last week! keep up the good work! Unfortunately I cant think of any speeches that haven't already been mentioned.

Regan’s “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Speech is pretty iconic. GWB’s Ground Zero Speech as well. There are a lot of good FDR speeches, but I personally love his “Arsenal of Democracy” speech. Though it’s a lot older than the other ones, the Gettysburg address is one of the most famous speeches in American history. The ironic thing about it, is that it was a relatively short speech that was given by Lincoln following a three hour speech given by someone else. Awesome video btw.❤

For Germany i'd say it's the speech Minister of Foreign Affairs Hans-Dietrich Genscher gave in 1989 at the Prague embassy of West Germany to a crowd of East German refugees who had come there hoping to get to the West. Its famous because he couldn't finish it: when he said: "We have come to you to tell you that today, your departure ..." the crowd started cheering immediately, making the rest of the sentence unintelligible. Shortly before the fall of the Berlin wall, this was one of the most iconic moments of German reunification.

"Es palikšu savā vietā, jūs palieciet savās" - On June 17, 1940, Latvia was completely occupied by the Soviet Union. Rather than risk an unwinnable war, former president of Latvia Kārlis Ulmanis gave a nationwide radio address ordering no resistance to the Red Army, saying "I will remain in my place and you remain in yours" During the the first lockdown this quote regained quite a lot of popularity for obvious reasons.

Here in Australia it would be Prime Minister Gough Whitlam's 1975 speech when he and his government was sacked by the Governor-General. The most notable lines from it are "Well may we say God Save the Queen, because nothing will save the Governor General" and "Maintain your rage and enthusiasm through the campaign for the election now to be held and until polling day." The first quote is probable more notable and more famous within the general Australian public. Another speech that comes to mind was Prime Minister Julia Gillard's misogyny speech which was delivered to Parliament criticising the Opposition Leader's remarks, the most notable line is "I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man." Hope you include these are they are very notable speeches and quite important to Australia's culture and history.

Magnificent video

A couple from Australia: Gough Whitlam's "well may we say God save the Queen, because nothing will save the Governor General" is the most iconic one probably. More recent ones would be The National Apology (Kevin Rudd) and Julia Gillard's misogyny speech.

Germany: *"immediately without delay!!"*

You're forgetting "We will go to the moon, and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are HAHD"

'' If I understood correctly, you are telling me: see you next time. '' René Lévesque.

"We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard."

I can’t believe you didn’t mention Ronald Reagan’s “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” speech. Or FDR’s “A day that will live in infamy” speech. Another more recent speech from the 21st century would be George W. Bush’s Ground Zero speech after 9/11, where he said, “I hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!”

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “The only thing we have to fear is... fear itself”

JJ is always teaches me new words like "treacly". Thx, JJ!

“The people must know that this country belongs to the people, not of the King like what they fool us” rough translation of the 1st declaration of the people’s party which established democracy in Thailand

I am from Bangladesh and I would like to highlight a speech, specifically the speech given by Sheikh Mujibar Rahman at the Ramina race course in Dhaka city on the 7th of March 1971. He called for the independence of Bangladesh against Pakistani oppression for which he is considered the father of the country. The speech was half an hour long, was caught on tape and was witnessed by 2 million Bengalis in person. The main quote from that speech which is engraved into the memory of every Bangladeshi is “এবারের সংগ্রাম আমাদের মুক্তির সংগ্রাম, এবারের সংগ্রাম স্বাধিনতার সংগ্রাম” (ebarer shongram amader muktir shongram, ebarer shongram shadinatar shongram in the Latin alphabet). This roughly translates to “This struggle is for our emancipation, this struggle is for our independence.” Many consider this the official declaration Independence of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Here’s the link kzfaq.info/get/bejne/kNmBmdSd0Mfdemg.html Time stamp: 11:00

Hey j.j you make really cool videos and I like you

I'm not Cuban, but I'd say that Che Guevara's "patria o muerte" speech at the United Nations is pretty well known

Churchill's "never in the course of human conflict, has so much,been owed by so many, to so few"

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” or “four score and seven years ago” here in the states

Here in Northern Ireland I think Ian Paisleys speech “Ulster Says No” is particularly remembered. Which way you remember it is another conversation all together.

Even though he was the Prime Minister of Great Britain, I think that Winston Churchill's "One chicken, one neck" speech is absolutely one of the greatest speeches ever given within Canada and our House of Commons.

“It is typical Norwegian to be good.” - Gro Harlem Brundtland. This is a quote from the prime minister of Norway during her 1992 annual New Year’s Eve speech, where she basically laid out what defines Norway and Norwegians.

Salvador Allendes final speech during the 1973 coup is in my opinion the most iconic speech for Chile

Hi, I'm a Venezuelan with Spaniard ancestry living in Spain. The most memorable speech in Spain I can think about right now is «Españoles, Franco ha muerto» (Spaniards, Franco is death), spoken by the 'Presidente del Gobierno' Carlos Arias Navarro in 1975 at the morning in Radio Nacional. I believe it represent such an important moment in the History of Spain, the end of Franco Ditatorship and the beginning of the transition to democracy. The phrase have been parodied and referenced in many Spanish media such as movies and series. As for Venezuela, well this will sound crazy, but I'll adevture to say that most people has a clear memory of some cringe speech developed by former president Hugo Chavez such as: 'El capitalismo acabó con la vida en Marte' (capitalism exterminated live on Mars). However, Chavez succesor, Nicolas Maduro has manged to make EVEN MORE embarrassing speeches, such as: 'Cristo multiplicó los p3n3s' (Christ fed the multitude with one loaf of p3n1ses), 'Chavez se me apreció en forma de pajarito' (Chavez apeared to me in the form of a bird (the speech is more long and full of mimics moments, I recomend search by yourself)) Yes those crazyness were spoked at loud in speeches. Here is a compilation video, but its in Spanish kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ld1hptt3tJO1qJc.html Keep in mind that Chavez regime leasted 14 years, so many young Venezuelans doesn't have a memory about the pre-socialist era.

For Ireland probably the most Famous is DeValera's "It is indeed hard for the strong to be just to the weak but acting justly always has its rewards.” response to Churchill when he threatened that he could have invaded Ireland during world war 2. It likely kept him in power for another 15 year which was very damaging to the country but its a damn good response and made Churchill look petty and belligerent something he admitted to later.

For Singapore, the speech PM Lee Kuan Yew gave at a press conference where he tearfully announced Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia, thus forcing Singapore into independence. "For the whole of my adult life, I have believed in merger and the unity of these two territories. People connected by geography, economics, and ties of kinship" Though it is a press conference rather than a public event so...

in India it's probably the "At the stroke of the midnight hour" speech.

For Ecuador, president Jaime Roldos Aguilera delivered a speech the day he died in a plane crash. It was really meaningful because he was the first president elected democratically after a long period of dictatorship. There are some theories that the plane crash was not actually an accident, but who knows 🤷‍♀️ "We have worked 21 months under a constitutional government when in countries like ours, having a democratic stability means conquering it daily"."Ecuadorians, we were honest. We continue to be honest in each and all of our actions. Actions, not words, will prove our intentions. It’s the time of work and solidarity, not the time for strikes, threats or rumors. Let’s prove we love our country by complying our duties. Our great passion is and should always be Ecuador. Our great passion; listen to me, is and should be Ecuador"."We don’t want this Ecuador to be enmeshed in the insignificant but in the most important, in the untiring, building up a destiny of nobility; a heroic Ecuador that won in Pichincha, an Ecuador with brave people, brave fighters from Paquisha, Machinaza and Mayaicu who died in action in the trenches. A heroic Ecuador of the Cóndor Mountain Range. An eternal and united Ecuador in the defense of its territory. A democratic Ecuador capable of teaching humanism, work and liberty. This Amazonian Ecuador, forever and always. Long live the Fatherland!." - I found that translation in Wikipedia

“I Have a Scream” is absolutely hilarious

Poland: Peace is a precious and a desirable thing. Our generation, bloodied in wars, certainly deserves peace. But peace, like almost all things of this world, has its price, a high but a measurable one. We in Poland do not know the concept of peace at any price. There is only one thing in the lives of men, nations and countries that is without price. That thing is honor. Joseph Beck, Minister of Foregin Affairs, May 5th 1939

In Finland, one of the most memorable speeches must be the one given by Mannerheim at the end of the Winter War. Here is a link with English translation: histdoc.net/history/mheim.html There are a couple of similar speeches given during the 2nd world war, but this one in particular has started a life of its own. It is common to see this speech hanging and presented proudly on the walls of a wartime building, usually a school or perhaps in a corner of a church. The speech is used as an example in Finnish high schools when talking about rhetorical methods and has appeared on the mandatory end-of-high school test multiple times over the years. An example about an essay topic you could be asked to write about it is: "This is an speech given by Mannerheim at the end of the Winter War. Examine it as an argumentative speech.". It is an interesting speech since it had to sell the harsh peace term to the Finnish people. During the war, somewhat misleading reports were given on the radio about the state of the Finnish army. Most people thought the fight was still going somewhat well. The truth could not be further from the truth. No Western nation was in a place where they could help Finland, the other Nordic countries were afraid of the Soviet union, and Germany had a non-aggression pact with the Soviets. Finland was out of money, out of ammo and running out of soldiers. You can see Mannerheim almost trying to sugarcoat the harsh peace terms throughout the speech. He emphasizes the Herculean effort of the Finnish soldiers, underlines the impossible the odds they faced, and then tells how Famous lines from the speech include: "You did not want war; you loved peace, work and progress; but you were forced into a struggle in which you have done great deeds, deeds that will shine for centuries in the pages of history. " "You did not hate them or wish them evil; you merely followed the stern law of war: kill or be killed." "Our Army was small and its reserves and cadres inadequate. We were not prepared for war with a Great Power. While our brave soldiers were defending our frontiers we had by insuperable efforts to procure what we lacked. We had to construct lines of defence where there were none. We had to try to obtain help, which failed to come. We had to find arms and equipment at a time when all the nations were feverishly arming against the storm which sweeps over the world. Your heroic deeds have aroused the admiration of the world, but after three and a half months of war we are still almost alone. " "When some day the history of this war is written, the world will learn of your efforts." "After sixteen weeks of bloody battle with no rest by day or by night, our Army still stands unconquered before an enemy which in spite of terrible losses has grown in numbers; ..." "We are proudly conscious of the historic duty which we shall continue to fulfill; the defence of that Western civilisation which has been our heritage for centuries, but we know also that we have paid to the very last penny any debt we may have owed the West. " Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

I'm from Austria and in our country the most famous speech is "Österreich ist frei" given by then PM Leopold Figl from the Parlament to the public. In which he days that Austria is now (1955) a free country and the Occupiers (USA , FRA , GB ,SOV) leave.

Hey JJ. I'm a Venezuelan refugee living in Canada and I haver learned a lot about this nation through your videos. Venezuela has a lot of famous and infamous speeches, but one that still weights heavily in our nation was from 1992, after the failed military coup by Hugo Chavez he proclaimed on national television "the objectives were not achieved... For now". He went on to win the 1998 election and today Venezuela is... well, what it is. That moment was the birth of the current authoritarian regime that rules the nation and the so called "21st century socialism", but like with everything it has pretty much became a meme.

Honestly, the most iconic "Canadian" speech I can think of (as a Canadian) would be De Gaulle's "Vive le Quebec Libre" speech, it's probably the only one I could have quoted a line from off the top of my head.

Churchill also famously said: Never was so much owed by so many to so few

I know it's older than the rest, but I think Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is one of the most iconic speeches in American history

I'm an American and I think a lot of speeches but the Muslim minister Malcolm X are iconic like his Ballot or the Bullet speech or his speech about police brutality on April 27 1962 and I think the most quoted line from that 62 speech is when he sad "Who taught you to hate".