Niels Hansen (diplomat)

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Niels Michael Hansen (born November 7, 1924 in Heidelberg ; † January 4, 2015 in Bonn ) was a German diplomat . Among other things, he worked as an ambassador to Israel and NATO and as head of the planning team in the Federal Foreign Office .

Life

Hansen attended high school in Lübeck . During the Second World War he was a soldier in Italy. After the end of the war, Hansen initially studied medicine , but switched to law . He studied in Göttingen , Hamburg , Heidelberg , Zurich and Geneva . There he attended the Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales . He graduated with a License en droit (1951) and a Docteur en droit in 1955.

At times he worked as an assistant for Roman law and legal history at the University of Geneva . During this time he joined the German Foreign Service . Between 1954 and 1955 he worked for the business delegation in Vienna . He then worked in the office of Foreign Minister Heinrich von Brentano until 1958 . He then initially served as the ambassador's representative in Lisbon and Geneva. Between 1965 and 1968 Hansen was Deputy Consul General in New York . Afterwards he was head of the Northern Mediterranean Unit in the Foreign Office. Later he was responsible for the European political integration, France and the Benelux countries. After the two German states gained full membership of the UN in 1973 , Hansen became the ambassador of the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic to the United Nations in New York. In 1975 he moved to Washington as envoy and deputy ambassador .

As the successor to Klaus Kinkel , Hansen took over the position of ministerial director in 1978 as head of the planning staff at the Foreign Office.

In 1981 he replaced Klaus Schütz as the German ambassador to Israel . During this time, German-Israeli relations were not without tension. Shortly before, Prime Minister Menachem Begin had sharply attacked Chancellor Helmut Schmidt because of his visit to Saudi Arabia . There was also tension over the European Community's condemnation of the Israeli attack on a nuclear reactor in Iraq . Hansen's subsequent tenure as ambassador was also not free of tension. During this time, German arms deliveries to Arab states and the Lebanon War took place . Hansen managed to contribute to relaxation. For example, he learned about Ivrit and tried to establish direct relationships by promoting youth encounters and town twinning. He was also president of a Rotary club in Israel and founded the Johann Sebastian Bach Center in Tel Aviv . As a flautist he also appeared in public himself.

Since 1985 Hansen was the permanent representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to NATO . He stayed there until his retirement in November 1989. He then continued to work on improving relations between Germany and Israel. He held various honorary positions. The high esteem in Israel was demonstrated by the publication of a commemorative publication for Hansen's 70th birthday. Teddy Kollek wrote the foreword . Contributions were made by Shimon Peres and other Israeli personalities.

He was also Vice President of the German Atlantic Society and the Atlantic Treaty Organization . Hansen is a bearer of the Federal Cross of Merit with a Star , Knight of the Order of St. John and an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University . He belonged to the CDU .

Hansen worked as an author and editor . In addition to several independent writings, he published articles and articles in specialist journals, newspapers and compilations.

Fonts

  • From the shadow of the catastrophe. German-Israeli relations in the era of Konrad Adenauer and David Ben Gurion . A documented report with an accompanying word by Shimon Peres, Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-7700-1886-9
  • Franz Böhm with Ricarda Huch. Two true patriots . Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf 2009, ISBN 978-3-7700-1908-3
  • Israel and Germany. The ambassadors report on four decades of diplomatic relations (1965–2005) . Editors: Asher Ben Natan / Niels Hansen. Böhlau Verlag, Cologne Weimar Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-412-13105-9
  • Christian Morgenstern speaks six languages. Thirty cheerful poems translated into English, French, Hebrew, Italian and Spanish . Edited by Niels Hansen, with illustrations by Igael Tumarkin , Urachhaus Verlag, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8251-7476-X

literature

  • Munzinger: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 01/2003 of December 23, 2002
  • Law and truth bring peace . Festschrift from Israel for Niels Hansen. Published by Shmuel Bahagon, Bleicher Verlag, Gerlingen 1994, ISBN 3-88350-611-7

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Former Ambassador Niels Hansen has died , israelnetz.com, report from January 6, 2015 (accessed on January 9, 2015).
predecessor Office successor
Hans-Georg Wieck Permanent representative to the NATO Council of the Federal Republic of Germany
1985–1989 		Hans-Friedrich von Ploetz
personal data
SURNAME Hansen, Niels
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hansen, Niels Michael (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German diplomat and author
DATE OF BIRTH November 7, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Heidelberg
DATE OF DEATH 4th January 2015
Place of death Bonn