Richard Ellerkmann
Richard Ellerkmann (born June 6, 1928 in Duisburg ) is a former German ambassador .
Life
Richard Ellerkmann graduated from the Steinbart-Gymnasium in Duisburg in 1948 . From 1948 to 1950 Ellerkmann was a mining enthusiast and studied mining at RWTH Aachen University . He completed a law degree at the University of Bonn from 1950 to 1954 with the first state examination. In Bonn he became a member of the Corps Brunsviga Munich zu Bonn (today Rhenania-Brunsviga Erlangen). From 1955 to 1956 he studied literature , history and economics at the University College of the University of Toronto , and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. In 1961 Ellerkmann passed the second state examination in law. From 1961 to 1963 Ellerkmann was employed by the Lord Day & Lord law firm in New York City .
1961 Ellerkmann became a doctor of law doctorate . Ellerkmann joined the Foreign Service in 1963 . From 1963 to 1968 he was the first secretary and cultural advisor in Tehran . From 1968 to 1971 he was employed in the Foreign Office in Bonn. From 1971 to 1974 Ellerkmann was counselor for the embassy in Warsaw and head of the legal and consular department.
From 1974 to 1977 Ellerkmann was ambassador to Uganda . At the end of 1973, the US government closed its embassy in Kampala, and the embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany took over the protection of the US citizens. The British citizen Denis Hills wrote the book The White Pumpkin , in which he called Idi Amin a "black Nero " and a village tyrant. Amin had him sentenced to death by a firing squad in April 1975 for high treason. He was later pardoned and was able to leave the country with Foreign Minister Callaghan on July 10, 1975. Ellerkmann has supported the British in their efforts to release Hills. For his commitment Ellerkmann was praised by the British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in a letter to the German Federal President Walter Scheel . On the other hand, Ellerkmann's too close proximity to Idi Amin was criticized.
From 1969 to January 25, 1971, under the Milton Obote government, the Golda Meir government used Uganda as a transfer country to support the Anya-Nya in South Sudan . From this time Rolf Steiner was known to the then Defense Minister Idi Amin . Rolf Steiner was on the wanted lists of the "Unit for Public Security" in Kampala. Two West German businessmen were assigned to von Steiner's group by the security forces at the end of 1975 and held for five days in the central prison in Kampala. Ellerkmann then went to the Ugandan foreign minister several times and was able to obtain the release of the two men through his intervention. In order not to endanger the departure of the wife and children of one of the victims, Ellerkmann suggested to the Foreign Office to ask a German daily newspaper to temporarily suspend reporting. After the matter was closed, the prisoner's employer thanked the Federal Foreign Office for the work of the embassy.
The government of Idi Amin tried to cover up the circumstances of the death of Janani Luwum , who was arrested on February 16, 1977, and two Ugandan ministers, which Ellerkmann reported on February 19, 1977.
"Respected representatives of the host country have suggested in discussions with Western diplomats that steps are expected at least from Western countries to put an end to Amin's terrorist regime or at least denounce the archbishop and two ministers for the murder"
Ellerkmann recommended acting more through the United Nations or the European Community.
One of Ellerkmann's motives for advocating staying in Uganda was that he did not want to leave the field to the representatives of the Soviet Union and "extreme Arabs". He also believed:
“As long as there are 350 Americans and Germans in the country, one can only live up to one's responsibility for these people if the embassy is fully occupied .... In addition, we should feel responsible to the 11 million Ugandans, who are 80% Christian. The more western countries withdraw, the more helpless these people will be at the mercy of Amin's terror. "
In 1977 Ellerkmann was entrusted with the management of the public relations department in the management staff at headquarters until he took over the newly opened embassy in Harare in 1980 after Zimbabwe gained independence .
From 1983 to 1987 Ellerkmann headed a department in the human resources department of the Foreign Office. In 1987 he was transferred as ambassador to Baghdad, where Ellerkmann experienced two Gulf Wars and was charged with the evacuation of 450 German hostages. Federal Chancellor a. D. Willy Brandt praised Ellerkmann for his work in rescuing the hostages.
1991 Ellerkmann took over the Embassy in Ottawa ( Canada ) until 1993 for reaching retirement age in the retirement went.
From 1993 to 1995 Ellerkmann was in a lawyer's firm in Schwerin as a lawyer employed. From November 1995 to February 1996, Ellerkmann headed an EU observer group for the parliamentary elections in the Gaza Strip . From August to September 1996 Ellerkmann supervised the elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). From January 1997 to April 1998 Ellerkmann was Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission in Sarajevo and from October 1998 to autumn 1999 Ellerkmann served as Deputy High Representative in Mostar .
In 2002 and 2003 he worked intermittently as an advisor to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah .
Ellerkmann is married and has five children.
In 2019 Ellerkmann published his autobiography "An eventful life".
Organizations
Ellerkmann was a council member and chairman of the school committee in his home community of Wachtberg from 1984 to 1987. From 2001 to 2005 he held the office of arbitrator .
Ellerkmann has been a member of the FDP and a founding member of the German-Zimbabwean Society since 1963, as well as a member of its executive committee.
Ellerkmann is a legal knight of the Order of St. John and holder of the Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class.
References and comments
- ^ Address directory of Kösener and Weinheimer Corps students. 1995, p. 144
- ↑ Denis Hills in the English language Wikipedia
- ↑ a b Flexible Diplomat , Der Spiegel issue 17/1980.
- ↑ Letter to the editor from Dr. Klaus Terfloth (Head of the Press Department at the Foreign Office), Liberated from Idi Amin's Catches , in “Der Spiegel”, No. 5 of January 5, 1976, p. 14
- ↑ Wire report No. 50 Section 320, Vol. 116862
- ↑ Files on the foreign policy of the Federal Republic of Germany. 1977. Volume 1, Oldenbourg, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-486-58338-0 , p. 227, footnote 2 ( books.google.com )
- ↑ DB No. 122 in files on the foreign policy of the Federal Republic of Germany 1977 vol I Doc 43, footnote 11
- ↑ Bonner Rundschau, November 13, 1990
- ↑ Dr. Richard Ellerkmann - Curriculum Vitae on ohr.int ( Memento from June 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Richard Ellerkmann: An eventful life. Miner, ambassador, advisor . Osiandersche Buchhandlung , Tübingen 2019, ISBN 978-3-9800011-1-3 (517 pages).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ellerkmann, Richard |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German ambassador |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 6, 1928 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Duisburg |