Gerhard Korth

Gerhard Korth (born July 14, 1929 ) is a former German diplomat . He was the GDR's ambassador to several Latin American countries and Spain .

Life

After graduating from high school , Korth passed a skilled worker examination as a machinist , then completed an economics degree at a business school and then worked as an investment clerk in the Brandenburg state government . After taking an exam as a technical college teacher, he became a teacher and deputy director of an engineering technical college. He then worked as the main consultant for Latin America in the Chamber for Foreign Trade of the GDR. In 1956 and 1957 he toured various countries in Latin America and promoted participation in the Leipzig trade fair in lectures and press conferences .

1958 Korth entered the diplomatic service. From 1958 to 1961 he was attaché , then third secretary of the legation in Belgrade . From 1961 to 1962, Korth was senior consultant in the 6th Non-European Department (Latin America) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the GDR (MfAA). In 1962 he obtained his diploma as a political scientist at the German Academy for Political Science and Law in Potsdam . From 1962 to 1965 he was second secretary at the Diplomatic Mission and from January 1963 at the GDR embassy in Havana . From 1965 to 1966 he worked as a sector manager and until 1968 as deputy head of the 6th non-European department (Latin America) of the MfAA. From 1968 to 1971 he was counselor at the GDR embassy in Havana. From 1972 to 1973 he headed the 6th non-European department (Latin America) of the MfAA.

During his tenure, Korth successfully concluded numerous discussions about the establishment of diplomatic relations between Latin American states and the GDR. From June 1973 to 1977 he was ambassador to Mexico City and from December 1973 also to Costa Rica and Panama . In 1977/1978 he was sent to Madrid as the GDR ambassador . From 1978 to 1979 he worked as a research assistant in the main department of policy issues and planning at the MfAA. In 1979 he was head of the government delegation of the GDR to participate in the Conference of European States on Security and Cooperation with the Mediterranean Countries on Malta. From 1979 to 1980 he was charge of the embassy in Managua . From 1980 he was deputy head, from 1983 again head of the Latin America department at the MfAA and a member of the MfAA's college. From 1988 to 1990 he was again ambassador to Mexico with second accreditations in Costa Rica and Panama.

From 1995 to 1997 Korth worked as a project manager for mine clearance in Guatemala under the auspices of the UN Refugee Organization (UNHCR) and worked on the legislative enactment of the Parliament of Guatemala for the continuation and financing of the project after the use of foreign aid funds and grants. In 2002 he became project manager for mine clearance in Cambodia and was involved in the involvement of civil government institutions in the contractual agreements already concluded with the Cambodian army .

Korth was a member of the SED . Today he lives in Berlin as a pensioner.

Awards

• Patriotic Order of Merit in Bronze (1973)
• Bearer of the Aztec Order of Mexico (1977)

Works

• Growing relations between the GDR and Latin America . In: Deutsche Außenpolitik 14 (1969), pp. 688-692.

literature

• Günther Buch: Names and dates of important people in the GDR. 2nd, revised and expanded edition. Dietz, Berlin (West) / Bonn 1979, ISBN 3-8012-0034-5 , p. 166.
• Gabriele Baumgartner, Dieter Hebig (Hrsg.): Biographisches Handbuch der SBZ / DDR. 1945–1990. Volume 1: Abendroth - Lyr. KG Saur, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-598-11176-2 , p. 425.
• Ingrid Muth : The GDR Foreign Policy 1949–1972. Contents, structures, mechanisms . 2nd Edition. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin 2001 pp. 275, 293f. and 313.
• Siegfried Bock , Ingrid Muth, Hermann Schwiesau: The GDR foreign policy, an overview. Data, facts, people (III) . LIT Verlag Dr. W. Hopf, Berlin 2010, p. 325.