Gerhard Herder (born 13 August 1928) is a former German

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

who served as an ambassador for

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

and to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

from 1983 until 2 October 1990, following the collapse of the GDR.

Early life

Herder, son of a carpenter, attended high school and earned his ''

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

''. Herder served as a Luftwaffenhelfer during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and became a prisoner of war held by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. He was released from captivity in 1949 and became a member of the

Free German Youth The Free German Youth (german: Freie Deutsche Jugend; FDJ) is a youth movement in Germany. Formerly, it was the official youth movement of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The organization was meant ...

(FDJ) and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). He worked as a full-time FDJ functionary and from 1953 was head of the Department of International Relations in the Central Council of the FDJ. From 1951 to 1953 he studied foreign policy and law at the German Academy of Political and Legal Sciences (DASR) in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

- Babelsberg. From 1956 he worked as a research assistant at the Institute of International Law at the DASR, passed his state examination in law in 1958, and received his doctorate in law in 1961. From 1960 to 1962 Herder was a lecturer at the Institute of International Law of the DASR.

Career

From 1962 he worked for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

of the GDR (MfAA) until 1963 as a deputy and then until 1965 as head of the legal and contracting department and as a scientific advisor to State Secretary

Otto Winzer Otto Winzer (3 April 1902 – 3 March 1975) was an East German diplomat who served as East Germany's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1965 to 1975. Biography Winzer was born in Berlin in 1902. He was a son of worker. Otto Winzer learned the types ...

. From 1965 to 1967 he was head of the policy department of the MfAA. From 1968 to 1972 he headed the commercial agency in the function of a legation councilor and was ambassador to from March to November 1973 Lebanon. From 1974 to 1983 he was head of the GDR delegation to the Geneva Disarmament Committee and since 1979 at the same time Permanent Observer Mission of the GDR to the UN in New York and international organizations headquartered in Geneva. Herder was appointed as the third and ultimately the last ambassador to the U.S. in 1983 and began serving on 12 July 1983, when he presented his credentials to President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. Herder served until 2 October 1990, with accreditation to Canada where the GDR did not have a physical diplomatic presence. His tenure ended on 2 October 1990, with the completion of

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

the following day as the GDR folded and was absorbed by the former

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

government.

Later life

Herder is now a pensioner and lives in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herder, Gerhard 1928 births Living people People from Mrągowo County People from East Prussia Ambassadors of East Germany to the United States Ambassadors of East Germany to Canada Socialist Unity Party of Germany members Luftwaffenhelfer German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold