On 6 June 2019, the Federal Government will celebrate the Day of the Peacekeeper for the seventh time. At a ceremony in the Federal Foreign Office, Heiko Maas, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Horst Seehofer, Federal Minister of the Interior, Building and Community, and Ursula von der Leyen, Federal Minister of Defence, will pay tribute to nine German peacekeepers for their outstanding dedication in fragile states and crisis regions.

Representing the more than 3000 Germans participating in international peace missions, three soldiers, three police officers and three civilian experts will be honoured. This is the Federal Government’s way of voicing its gratitude and respect to all German peacekeepers who often perform their work in difficult conditions.

This year, tribute is being paid to German personnel who are working or have recently worked to train the security forces in Afghanistan and Lebanon, to protect the civilian population in Mali, to support democratic structures in Albania, to help build capacities to combat human trafficking and smuggling in the Niger, to improve forensic examinations in Ukraine, to help set up the Interpol office in Haiti, or as a UN liaison officer in South Sudan or with KFOR.

The nine peacekeepers are: Kerstin Bartsch, EUCAP Sahel Niger; Sebastian Frowein, MINUSMA Mali; Claudia Vollmer, OSCE Albania; Sascha Brunkohl, GPPT Afghanistan; Karin Hemminger, MINUJUSTH Haiti; Tassilo Jurna, EUAM Ukraine; Alexander Blunck, UNMISS South Sudan; Boris Bollow, UNIFIL Lebanon and Sarah Reichel, KFOR Kosovo.

By participating in peace missions, Germany is shouldering responsibility for peace and security around the world. More than 350 guests are expected to attend the ceremony in the Federal Foreign Office, including current and former participants in peace missions of the United Nations, the European Union, NATO and the OSCE, as well as Members of the German Bundestag.

Additional information:

Coinciding with the ceremony, guests will be able to visit the exhibition, Global Peace Missions: Germany’s Civilian Experts, with images provided by German photographers from mission countries, data, facts and exhibits on international peace missions, as well as profiles of civilian experts. The exhibition was put together by the Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF) and is on display in the Atrium of the Federal Foreign Office until 13 June (10 a.m. to 7 p.m.).