Wolfgang Altenburg

Wolfgang Altenburg (1983)

Wolfgang Altenburg (born June 24, 1928 in Schneidemühl ) is a retired German general . D. the Bundeswehr . From 1983 to 1986 he was inspector general of the Bundeswehr and from 1986 to 1989 chairman of the NATO military committee .

Life

In 1944 Altenburg became a naval helper on Heligoland . After being a prisoner of war, Altenburg made his home in the Bremen area and completed vocational training as a hotel manager . He then held a leading position in the food and supply sector in Bremen.

In 1956 he joined the Bundeswehr as an officer candidate . After completing officer training in the artillery training battalion and deploying some troops as platoon leader and battery chief, he was trained as a general staff officer from 1962 to 1964 at the command academy of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg . Staff and management tasks followed at home and abroad. a. at the 6th Panzer Grenadier Division in Neumünster.

Several uses as assistant and speaker led to the Federal Ministry of Defense . In 1971 he became Deputy Head of Nuclear Planning at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). Assignments as commander of the Panzergrenadierbrigade 7 and head of the command staff of the armed forces followed.

In 1979 he became the German representative at the NATO Military Committee. Then he was commanding general of the III. Corps and from 1983 to 1986 General Inspector of the Bundeswehr . In the long years of his military service, General Altenburg also served in the United States . In 1986 the NATO Chiefs of Staff elected him Chairman of the NATO Military Committee , the Alliance's highest military authority . He finished his service in 1989 in Brussels .

Since 1990 General a. D. Altenburg advisory activities in matters of security and military policy, u. a. at NATO, at domestic and foreign government and study institutes as well as in the economic and industrial sectors. In addition, there is lecture and media work. From 1991 to 1994 he was President of the Clausewitz Society .

Wolfgang Altenburg is married. He has three children, six grandchildren and one great-grandson. Altenburg is based in Bremen-Nord today .

Awards

• 1980: Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class
• 1983: Legion of Merit
• 1984: Large Federal Cross of Merit
• 1984: Member of the Legion of Honor (Commander)
• 1986: Grand Cross of the Spanish Order of Merit of the Army (white)
• 1986: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
• 1986: Great Cross of Merit with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany
• 1987: Legion of Merit (Commander)
• 1989: Grand Cross of the Portuguese Order of Christ
• 1989: Grand Cross of the Spanish Order of Merit of the Navy (white)
• 1989: Cross of Honor of the Turkish Armed Forces
• 1989: Great Cross of Merit with Star and Shoulder Ribbon of the Federal Republic of Germany
• 1995: Honorary member of the Clausewitz Society
• 2003: Lucius D. Clay Medal
• 2008: Honorary President of the Clausewitz Society

Honorary positions

Wolfgang Altenburg is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Bremen Community Foundation .

Fonts (selection)

Monographs / editorships

• The Bundeswehr - here and today! (= Sociopolitical series of publications by AGV Metall Cologne . 31). Edited by the employers' association of the metal industry, Cologne 1985, ISBN 3-88575-028-7 .

Contributions to edited volumes

• Military strategic considerations for the security of Western Europe . In: Peter-Kurt Würzbach (Ed.): Raise the atomic threshold. Modern peacekeeping for the day after tomorrow . Bernard and Graefe, Koblenz 1983, ISBN 3-7637-5444-X , p. 107 ff.
• What is the tradition and what does the Bundeswehr need? . In: Andreas Prüfert (Ed.): Bundeswehr and Tradition. On the debate about the future understanding of history and tradition in the armed forces (= Inner Leadership Forum . Vol. 7). Nomos, Baden-Baden 2000, ISBN 3-7890-6762-8 , p. 28 ff.
• The nuclear strategy of the North Atlantic Alliance. From opposition to togetherness in the East-West relationship . In: Klaus-Jürgen Bremm , Hans-Hubertus Mack , Martin Rink (eds.): Decided for peace. 50 years of the Bundeswehr. 1955 to 2005 . Rombach, Freiburg im Breisgau 2005, ISBN 3-7930-9438-3 , p. 63 ff.

literature

• Wolfgang Altenburg , Internationales Biographisches Archiv 16/2000 from April 10, 2000 (st) Supplemented by news from MA-Journal up to week 42/2003, in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available)
• Dermot Bradley , Heinz-Peter Würzenthal, Hansgeorg Model : The generals and admirals of the Bundeswehr 1955–1999. The military careers . Volume 1: Adam – Fuhr . Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1998, ISBN 978-3-7648-2492-1 , pp. 27-28.
• Viktor Toyka , Rüdiger Kracht: Clausewitz Society. Chronicle 1961–2011 . Edited by the Clausewitz Society, Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-9810794-6-3 , pp. 72–73.

Web links

Commons : Wolfgang Altenburg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Biography at the Federal Ministry of Defense

predecessor	Office	successor
Cornelis de Jager	Chairman of the NATO Military Committee 1986–1989	Vigleik oath