The first requirement of a statesman is that he be dull. This is not always easy to achieve. Dean Acheson
A statesman wants courage and a statesman wants vision; but believe me, after six months’ experience, he wants first, second, third and all the time – patience. Stanley Baldwin
A disposition to preserve, and an ability to improve, taken together, would be my standard of a statesman. Edmund Burke
A constitutional statesman is in general terms a man of common opinions and uncommon abilities. Walter Bagehot
A politician is a person with whose politics you don’t agree; if you agree with him he’s a statesman. David Lloyd George
A statesman who keeps his ear permanently glued to the ground will have neither elegance of posture nor flexibility of movement. Abba Eban
The fastest way for a politician to become an elder statesman is to lose an election. Earl Wilson
The supreme function of statesmanship is to provide against preventable evils. Enoch Powell
A statesman cannot afford to be a moralist. Will Durant
A statesman is a successful politician who is dead. Thomas B Reed