Editing Guido Westerwelle (section)

===Arab Spring===
When the insurgency against [[Libya]]'s dictator [[Muammar Gaddafi]] broke out in early 2011, Westerwelle promptly stated his support for the repressed opposition. Earlier, he had initially been cautious before making any pronouncements about Tunisia and Egypt, but in the case of Libya, he quickly called out Gaddafi as a dictator, and argued in favor of EU-level sanctions against the regime in [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-03-05 |title=Germany wants tougher sanctions on Libya's Gaddafi {{!}} Reuters |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305154854/http://uk.reuters.com/article/libya-germany-sanctions-idUKLDE7250FS20110306 |access-date=2025-05-10 |website=web.archive.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Nelles |first=Roland |date=2011-03-18 |title=Germany has marginalised itself over Libya |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/mar/18/libya-germany-un-security-council |access-date=2025-05-10 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Strongly motivated by a widespread aversion in Germany to the use of military force, he shared with Chancellor Merkel a deep scepticism about a no-fly zone as it was suggested by France and the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |last=X |date=2011-04-01 |title=Some in Germany critical of decision to sit out Libya operation |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/la-xpm-2011-apr-01-la-fg-germany-libya-20110402-story.html |access-date=2025-05-10 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> At a [[UN Security Council]] meeting in March 2011, Westerwelle abstained in the vote on [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973]] to establish a no-fly zone, along with veto powers Russia and China as well as Brazil and India.<ref name="dw.de" /> Shortly after, he expelled five Libyan diplomats for intimidating Libyan citizens living in Germany.<ref>Sabine Siebold (13 April 2011), [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-libya-idUSTRE73C22420110413 Germany expels five Libyan diplomats] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924152416/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/13/us-germany-libya-idUSTRE73C22420110413 |date=24 September 2015 }} ''[[Reuters]]''.</ref> During a visit to [[Benghazi]] in June 2011, Westerwelle announced that Germany would recognize the rebel [[National Transitional Council]] as the legitimate representative of Libyans.<ref>Maria Golovnina (13 June 2011), [https://web.archive.org/web/20160411232138/http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-libya-idUKTRE7270JP20110613 Germany recognizes Libya's rebel leadership] ''[[Reuters]]''.</ref>

Amid the [[Egyptian Revolution of 2011]], Westerwelle visited the country six times between February 2011 and November 2012.<ref>[http://www.kairo.diplo.de/Vertretung/kairo/de/14/Bilaterale_20Beziehungen.html Germany and Egypt: Bilateral Relations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518080343/http://www.kairo.diplo.de/Vertretung/kairo/de/14/Bilaterale_20Beziehungen.html |date=18 May 2015 }} German Embassy in Kairo.</ref> In December 2011, he summoned [[Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy]], the Egyptian ambassador in Berlin, to protest over what he called an "unacceptable" raid on the Cairo office of the [[Konrad Adenauer Foundation]] among those searched during a crackdown on pro-democracy and human rights organizations. In February 2012, he harshly criticized Egypt for trying 44 people, including German citizens, over the alleged illegal funding of aid groups.<ref>[http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/02/201225183511739497.html Egypt to put NGO workers on trial] ''[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]'', 5 February 2012.</ref> When the Konrad Adenauer Foundation was ordered to close in Abu Dhabi later that year,  Westerwelle personally pressed his UAE counterpart [[Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan]] to rethink the decision.<ref>[http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/04/2012415259223454.html Concerns as UAE shuts down rights groups] ''[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]'', 1 April 2012.</ref>