Editing Hans-Dietrich Genscher (section)

== Vice Chancellor and Federal Foreign Minister ==
In the negotiations on a [[coalition government]] of SPD and FDP following the [[1976 West German federal election|1976 elections]], it took Genscher 73 days to reach agreement with [[Chancellor of Germany|Chancellor]] [[Helmut Schmidt]].<ref>Quentin Peel (22 September 2013), [http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/137e5b9c-23af-11e3-98a1-00144feab7de.html Coalition uncertainty hangs over Angela Merkel victory] ''[[Financial Times]]''.</ref>

As [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany)|Foreign Minister]], Genscher stood for a policy of compromise between East and West, and developed strategies for an active policy of [[détente]] and the continuation of the East–West dialogue with the USSR. He was widely regarded a strong advocate of negotiated settlements to international problems.<ref name="Genscher at Eye of Policy Debate">Stephen Kinzer (22 March 1991), [https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/22/world/genscher-at-eye-of-policy-debate.html Genscher At Eye of Policy Debate] ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref> As a popular story on Genscher's preferred method of [[shuttle diplomacy]] has it, "two [[Lufthansa]] jets crossed over the Atlantic, and Genscher was on both".<ref>[[William Tuohy]] (11 June 1989), [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-11-mn-3249-story.html Bonn's Genscher Views Gorbachev Reforms as 'Historic Opportunity'] ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''.</ref>
[[File:Bush senior und Hans-Dietrich Genscher.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|[[George H. W. Bush]] and Genscher (21 November 1989)]]

Genscher was a major player in the negotiations on the text of the [[Helsinki Accords]]. In December 1976, the [[General Assembly of the United Nations]] in New York City accepted Genscher's proposal of an anti-terrorism convention in New York,<ref>[http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/302/86/IMG/NR030286.pdf?OpenElement Drafting of an international convention against taking hostages] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323181124/http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/302/86/IMG/NR030286.pdf?OpenElement |date=23 March 2014 }}</ref> which was set among other things, to respond to demands from hostage-takers under any circumstances.

Genscher was one of the FDP's driving forces when, in 1982, the party switched sides from its coalition with the SPD to support the [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|CDU]]/[[Christian Social Union of Bavaria|CSU]] in their [[Constructive vote of no confidence]] to have incumbent [[Helmut Schmidt]] replaced with opposition leader [[Helmut Kohl]] as Chancellor. The reason for this was the increase in the differences between the coalition partners, particularly in economic and social policy. The switch was controversial, not least in his own party.<ref name="Tagesschau-2016">{{cite web|title=Hans-Dietrich Genscher: Ein Leben in Bildern|url=https://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/bilder/genscher-103.html|publisher=Tagesschau|access-date=1 April 2016|language=de|date=1 April 2016}}</ref>

At several points in his tenure, he irritated the governments of the United States and other allies of Germany by appearing not to support Western initiatives fully. "During the Cold War, his penchant to seek the middle ground at times exasperated United States policy-makers who wanted a more decisive, less equivocal Germany", according to Tyler Marshall.<ref name="Tyler Marshall">Tyler Marshall (28 April 1992), [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-28-mn-954-story.html Genscher Quits as Germany's Foreign Minister] ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''.</ref> Genscher's perceived quasi-neutralism was dubbed ''Genscherism''.<ref name="Genscher at Eye of Policy Debate"/> "Fundamental to ''Genscherism'' was said to be the belief that Germany could play a role as a bridge between East and West without losing its status as a reliable NATO ally."<ref name="Genscher at Eye of Policy Debate"/> In the 1980s, Genscher opposed the deployment of new short-range NATO missiles in Germany. At the time, the [[Reagan Administration]] questioned whether Germany was straying from the Western alliance and following a program of its own.<ref name="nytimes.com">Stephen Kinzer (28 April 1992), [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/28/world/genscher-bonn-s-foreign-minister-18-years-resigns.html Genscher, Bonn's Foreign Minister 18 Years, Resigns] ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref>

In 1984, Genscher became the first Western foreign minister to visit [[Tehran]] since the [[Iranian Revolution]] of 1979. In 1988, he appointed Jürgen Hellner as West Germany's new ambassador to Libya, a post that had been vacant since the [[1986 Berlin discotheque bombing]], a tragedy which U.S. officials blamed on the government of [[Muammar Gaddafi]].<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-01-mn-4274-story.html Bonn Names Libya Envoy] ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', 1 October 1988.</ref>

Genscher's proposals frequently set the tone and direction of foreign affairs among Western Europe's democracies.<ref name="Tyler Marshall"/> He was also an active participant in the further development of the [[European Union]], taking an active part in the [[Single European Act]] Treaty negotiations in the mid-1980s, as well as the joint publication of the Genscher-Colombo plan with [[Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs]] [[Emilio Colombo]] which advocated further integration and deepening of relations in the [[European Union]] towards a more [[federal Europe]]. He later was among the politicians who pushed hard for monetary union alongside [[Edouard Balladur]], France's finance minister, and [[Giuliano Amato]],<ref>Tony Barber (16 December 2012), [http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/e287d1e6-406d-11e2-8f90-00144feabdc0.html The blueprint for lopsided monetary union] ''[[Financial Times]]''.</ref> circulating a memorandum to that effect.<ref>Hans-Dietrich Genscher (26 February 1988), [http://moneyingreece.org/library/genscher-memorandum-1988 Memorandum für die Schaffung eines europäischen Währungsraumes und einer Europäischen Zentralbank].</ref>

Genscher retained his posts as foreign minister and vice chancellor through German reunification and until 1992 when he stepped down for health reasons.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hans-Dietrich Genscher mit 89 Jahren gestorben|url=https://www.welt.de/newsticker/dpa_nt/infoline_nt/thema_nt/article153887106/Hans-Dietrich-Genscher-mit-89-Jahren-gestorben.html|newspaper=Die Welt|access-date=1 April 2016|language=de|date=1 April 2016}}</ref>

=== Reunification efforts ===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-0228-030, Erfurt, Volkskammerwahl, FDP-Wahlkundgebung, Genscher.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Genscher in the GDR, 1990]]
Genscher is most respected for his efforts that helped spell the end of the [[Cold War]], in the late 1980s when Communist eastern European governments toppled, and which led to [[German reunification]]. During his time in office, he focused on maintaining stability and balance between the West and the Soviet bloc. From the beginning, he argued that the West should seek cooperation with Communist governments rather than treat them as implacably hostile; this policy was embraced by many Germans and other Europeans.<ref name="nytimes.com"/>

Genscher had great interest in European integration and the success of German reunification. He soon pushed for effective support of political reform processes in [[Poland]] and [[Hungary]]. For this purpose, he visited Poland to meet the chairman of Solidarity [[Lech Wałęsa]] as early as January 1980.  Especially from 1987 he campaigned for an "active relaxation" policy response by the West to the Soviet efforts. In the years before German reunification, he made a point of maintaining strong ties with his birthplace Halle, which was regarded as significant by admirers and critics alike.<ref>William Tuohy (11 June 1989), [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-11-mn-3249-story.html Bonn's Genscher Views Gorbachev Reforms as 'Historic Opportunity'] ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''.</ref>

When thousands of East Germans sought refuge in West German embassies in [[Czechoslovakia]] and Poland, Genscher held discussions on the refugee crisis at the United Nations in New York with the foreign ministers of Czechoslovakia, Poland, East Germany and the Soviet Union in September 1989.<ref>William Tuohy (1 October 1989), [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-01-mn-1077-story.html E. Germans Win Bid to Go to West : Prague, Warsaw Permit 4,000 in Embassies to Leave] ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''.</ref> Genscher's 30 September 1989 speech from the balcony of the [[Embassy of Germany in Prague|German embassy in Prague]] was an important milestone on the road to the end of the [[GDR]]. In the embassy courtyard thousands of East German citizens had assembled. They were trying to travel to West Germany, but were being denied permission to travel by the Czechoslovak government at the request of East Germany. He announced that he had reached an agreement with the Communist Czechoslovak government that the refugees could leave: "We have come to you to tell you that today, your departure ..." (German: "Wir sind zu Ihnen gekommen, um Ihnen mitzuteilen, dass heute Ihre Ausreise ..."). After these words, the speech was drowned in cheers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Former German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher dies|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35943728|publisher=BBC|access-date=1 April 2016|date=1 April 2016}}</ref>

With his fellow foreign ministers [[James Baker]] of the United States and [[Eduard Shevardnadze]] of the Soviet Union, Genscher is widely credited with securing Germany's subsequent peaceful unification and the withdrawal of Soviet forces.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/beta/1.603536 Former Soviet Minister and Georgia Leader Shevardnadze Dies at 86] ''[[Haaretz]]'', 7 July 2014.</ref> He negotiated the German reunification in 1990 with his counterpart from the GDR, [[Markus Meckel]].<ref>[https://www.orte-der-einheit.de/en/ministry-of-foreign-affairs-of-the-gdr ''Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the GDR: A New Beginning with Big Plans''.] In: [https://www.orte-der-einheit.de/en/ Sites of Unity] ([[Haus der Geschichte]]), 2022.</ref> On 12 September 1990 he signed the [[Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany]] on behalf of West Germany.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%201696/volume-1696-I-29226-English.pdf|title=Federal Republic of Germany, German Democratic Republic, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America – Treaty on the final settlement with respect to Germany (with agreed minute). Signed at Moscow on 12 September 1990|date=1 December 1992|publisher=United Nations}}</ref> In November 1990, Genscher and his Polish counterpart [[Krzysztof Skubiszewski]] signed the [[German–Polish Border Treaty (1990)|German-Polish Border Treaty]] on the establishment of the [[Oder–Neisse line]] as Poland's western border. Meanwhile, he strongly endorsed the plans of the Bush Administration to assure continued U.S. influence in a post-Cold War Europe.<ref>Norman Kempster (5 April 1990), [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-04-05-mn-1006-story.html Bonn Official Agrees U.S. Must Play Role in Europe] ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''.</ref>

=== Post-reunification ===
In 1991, Genscher successfully pushed for Germany's recognition of the [[Croatia|Republic of Croatia]] in the [[Croatian War of Independence]] shortly after JNA entered [[Vukovar]].<ref>Stephen Kinzer (16 January 1992), [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/16/world/europe-backing-germans-accepts-yugoslav-breakup.html Europe, Backing Germans, Accepts Yugoslav Breakup] ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref> After Croatia and [[Slovenia]] had declared independence, Genscher concluded that Yugoslavia could not be held together, and that republics that wanted to break from the Serbian-dominated federation deserved quick [[diplomatic recognition]]. He hoped that such recognition would stop the fighting.<ref name="nytimes.com"/> The rest of the [[European Union]] was subsequently pressured to follow suit soon afterward.<ref>Paul Lewis (16 December 1991), [https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/16/world/un-yields-to-plans-by-germany-to-recognize-yugoslav-republics.html U.N. Yields to Plans by Germany To Recognize Yugoslav Republics] ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref> The [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|UN Secretary-General]] [[Javier Pérez de Cuéllar]] had warned the German Government, that a recognition of Slovenia and Croatia would lead to an increase in aggression in the former Yugoslavia.

At a meeting of the [[European Community]]'s foreign ministers in 1991, Genscher proposed to press for a [[war crimes trial]] for President [[Saddam Hussein]] of Iraq, accusing him of [[Crime of aggression|aggression]] against Kuwait, using [[chemical weapons]] against civilians and condoning [[genocide]] against the [[Kurds]].<ref>[[Alan Riding]] (16 April 1991), [https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/16/world/european-nations-to-lift-sanctions-on-south-africa.html European Nations to Lift Sanctions On South Africa] ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref>

During the [[Gulf War]], Genscher sought to deal with Iraq after other Western leaders had decided to go to war to force it out of Kuwait. Germany made a substantial financial contribution to the allied cause but, citing constitutional restrictions on the use of its armed forces, provided almost no military assistance.<ref name="nytimes.com"/> In January 1991, Germany sent Genscher on a state visit to Israel and followed up with an agreement to provide the Jewish state with $670 million in military aid, including financing for two submarines long coveted by Israel, a battery of Patriot missiles to defend against Iraqi missiles, 58 armored vehicles specially fitted to detect chemical and biological attacks, and a shipment of gas masks.<ref>Tom Hundley (3 February 1991), [https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/02/03/german-aid-to-iraq-opens-israeli-wounds/ German Aid To Iraq Opens Israeli Wounds] ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''.</ref> When, in the aftermath of the war, a far-reaching political debate broke out over how Germany should fulfill its global responsibilities, Genscher responded that if foreign powers expect Germany to assume greater responsibility in the world, they should give it a chance to express its views "more strongly" in the [[United Nations Security Council]].<ref name="Genscher at Eye of Policy Debate"/> He also famously held that "whatever floats is fine, whatever rolls is not" to sum up Germany's military export policy for restless countries – based on a navy's unsuitability for use against a country's own people.<ref>[http://www.dw.com/en/germany-debates-weapons-exports-amid-iraq-exception/a-17875033 Germany debates weapons exports amid Iraq 'exception'] ''[[Deutsche Welle]]'', 25 August 2014.</ref>

In 1992, Genscher, together with his Danish colleague [[Uffe Ellemann-Jensen]], took the initiative to create the [[Council of the Baltic Sea States]] (CBSS) and the [[EuroFaculty]].<ref>Gustav N Kristensen, ''Born into a Dream. EuroFaculty and the Council of the Baltic Sea States'', Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag 2010, {{ISBN|978-3-8305-1769-6}}.</ref>

More than half a century after Nazi leaders assembled their infamous exhibition "Degenerate Art", a sweeping condemnation of the work of the avant-garde, Genscher opened a re-creation of the show at the [[Altes Museum]] in March 1992, describing Nazi attempts to restrict artistic expression as "a step toward the catastrophe that produced the mass murder of European Jews and the war of extermination against Germany's neighbors." "The paintings in this exhibition have survived oppression and censorship", he asserted in his opening remarks. "They are not only a monument but also a sign of hope. They stand for the triumph of creative freedom over barbarism."<ref>Stephen Kinzer (5 March 1992), [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/05/arts/nazi-show-of-bad-art-reopens-in-berlin.html Nazi Show Of 'Bad' Art Reopens In Berlin] ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref>

On 18 May 1992, Genscher retired at his own request from the federal government, which he had been member of for a total of 23 years. At the time, he was the world's longest-serving foreign minister and Germany's most popular politician.<ref>Ian Johnson (28 April 1992), [https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1992-04-28-1992119055-story.html]  ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]''.</ref> He had announced his decision three weeks earlier, on 27 April 1992. Genscher did not specify his reasons for quitting; however, he had suffered two heart attacks by that time. His resignation took effect in May, but he remained a member of parliament and continued to be influential in the Free Democratic Party.<ref name="nytimes.com"/>

Following Genscher's resignation, Chancellor [[Helmut Kohl]] and FDP chairman [[Otto Graf Lambsdorff]] named [[Irmgard Schwaetzer]], a former aide to Genscher, to be the new Foreign Minister.<ref name="nytimes.com"/> In a surprise decision, however, a majority of the FDP parliamentary group rejected her nomination and voted instead to name Justice Minister [[Klaus Kinkel]] to head the Foreign Ministry.<ref>Stephen Kinzer (29 April 1992), [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/29/world/party-in-bonn-rebels-on-genscher-s-successor.html Party in Bonn Rebels on Genscher's Successor] ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref>