Rüdiger von Wechmar

Baron Rüdiger von Wechmar (November 15, 1923 – October 17, 2007) was a German diplomat. He was West German ambassador to the UN in the 1970s. During the thirty-fifth ordinary and the eighth emergency special sessions, from 1980 to 1981, he was President of the United Nations General Assembly.

Von Wechmar was born in Berlin. Being student at a National Political Institute of Education ("Napola"), he joined the German Army as a volunteer 17 years old, in 1941, and fought in the Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel for two years, until he was taken prisoner of war by the Americans. While a prisoner of war, he studied journalism in the United States. After the war ended, he worked as a journalist, and in 1958 he entered the diplomatic service. He was stationed at the German embassy in Washington and at the Consulate General in New York.

In 1963 he became correspondent for German television in Eastern Europe, but reentered diplomatic service in 1968. The following year he was appointed under-secretary of state and government spokesman. In 1974 he became UN ambassador. He represented West Germany as president of the UN Security Council in 1977 and 1978.

Von Wechmar was married and had three children. He died on October 17, 2007 in Munich.

External links

* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2725327.ece Obituary in "The Times", 24 October 2007]