Rainer Schuwirth

Rainer Schuwirth (born July 12, 1945 in Regensburg ) is a retired general . D. of the Army of the German Armed Forces and currently Chairman of the Board of the German Society for Defense Technology . In the army he last served 2004-2007 as Chief of Staff in NATO - Headquarters Europe, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE).

Military career

Schuwirth grew up as a son Horst-Bodo Schu Wirths in Regensburg and Bonn and made in 1964 at the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Gymnasium Bonn , the High School . On April 1, 1964, he pledged himself to serve in the army and was until 1966 the officers of the artillery trained. It was used in artillery until 1976, u. a. as battery boss . From 1976 to 1978 Schuwirth completed the general staff course at the command academy of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg and was then used as an intelligence officer ( G2 ) at the headquarters of the Central Army Group of NATO in Heidelberg until 1981 . From 1981 to 1983 he served in Koblenz as an operations officer (G3) in the staff of III. Corps .

From 1983 to 1985 he was in command of the 150 rocket artillery battalion in Wesel . After this assignment, Schuwirth served from 1985 to 1988 as a consultant for internal leadership and political education in the command staff of the armed forces in the Federal Ministry of Defense in Bonn. Schuwirth remained in the ministry and served as an adjutant to the Federal Defense Ministers Rupert Scholz and Gerhard Stoltenberg from 1988 to 1990 . From 1990 to 1991, he took over the post of head of department for military policy in the headquarters of the armed forces. From September 10, 1991 to September 30, 1993, Schuwirth commanded the 8th Panzer Brigade in Lüneburg and also carried out its dissolution. From 1994 to 1996 he served in the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to NATO in Brussels as head of the military policy department.

In 1996 Schuwirth returned to Bonn and served there until 1999 as a department head in the command staff of the armed forces, responsible for military policy basics for operations and exercises (Fü S III). In 1999 he took over the post of Commanding General of the IV Corps in Potsdam and managed this until its dissolution in summer 2001. From 2001 to 2004 Schuwirth was the first General Director of the European Union's military staff, which was newly established on June 11, 2001 . On September 22, 2004, he assumed the post of Chief of Staff from Admiral Sir Ian Garnett at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) near Mons , Belgium, and served under Generals James L. Jones and Bantz J. Craddock . On 13 September 2007 Schuwirth handed over the post at Karl-Heinz Lather and, after more than 43 years of service with a grand tattoo by Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung and Inspector General Wolfgang Schneiderhan on the parade ground of the Bendler Block in Berlin retires.

Schuwirth speaks two foreign languages: English and French. He is married and has a son and a daughter.

Memberships

One and a half years after his retirement, on April 29, 2009, he succeeded Vice Admiral a. D. Hans Frank elected chairman of the board of the German Defense Association (DWT).

Awards

His orders and decorations include: the Bundeswehr Cross of Honor in gold and silver , the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon , the Commander de l'Ordre National de Mérite , the Federal Cross of Merit First Class and the Gold Medal of the Polish Armed Forces .

In 2005 he received the Great Silver Medal of Honor with the Star for Services to the Republic of Austria .

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1. ↑ Big tattoo in honor of General Schuwirth (BMVg.de of September 13, 2007)
2. ↑ DWT: General a. D. Rainer Schuwirth - new chairman of the German Society for Defense Technology. (No longer available online.) Dmkn.de, archived from the original on July 28, 2010 ; Retrieved October 8, 2011 . 
3. ↑ List of all decorations awarded by the Federal President for services to the Republic of Austria from 1952 (PDF file; 6.59 MB)