Otto Martin von der Gablentz (Berlin, 9 October 1930 – Amsterdam, 13 July 2007) was a 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 interna ...

. He was ambassador to the Netherlands between 1983 and 1990, ambassador to Israel from 1990 to 1993 and between 1993 and 1995 was ambassador to the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. He served as Rector of the

College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...

from 1996 until 2001. He was born and studied law in Berlin, also studying in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

. He studied at the

in 1953 and returned to his alma mater as an assistant in 1955 and 1956. He began his diplomatic career in 1959. As a diplomat, he served as the German

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

to the Netherlands (1983–1990), Israel (1990–1993) and Russia (1993–1995). He was Rector of the College of Europe from 1996 until 2001. He died on 13 July 2007 in Amsterdam.

Biography

Son of Otto Heinrich von der Gablentz and his wife Hilda, née Zietlow, Otto studied law at the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

and at the Albert-Ludwigs-University in

, graduating in 1952. In 1953 he completed a course in sociology at the

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

, followed by a postgraduate degree in political science at

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economi ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

, which he completed in 1955 with a Bachelor of Philosophy. He then began his professional career as a political scientist at the

German Council on Foreign Relations The German Council on Foreign Relations (german: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik e. V. (DGAP)) is Germany's national foreign policy network and policy research institute. As an independent, private, non-partisan and non-profit org ...

(DGAP), where he dealt with the Berlin question, as well as working as academic assistant at the

in 1955-1956. In 1959 Gablentz joined the German foreign service and a term at the headquarters of the Federal Foreign Office in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

he worked from 1961 to 1964 at the embassy in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, among others. He then worked between 1964 and 1967 at the Legation Council in the unit "reunification" of the Federal Foreign Office and since 1967 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. In 1973 he became Head of Unit for European Political Unification and moved to the Federal Chancellery under Chancellor

Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Before becoming Ch ...

in 1978, where he became Head of Department for Foreign and Defense Policy in 1981. After the change of government, Gablentz succeeded Gerhard Fischer as ambassador to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1983 and remained there until his replacement by Klaus-Jürgen Citron in 1990. He then took over the post of ambassador from

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Wilhelm Haas Wilhelm Haas (4 September 1896 – 11 January 1981) was a German Ambassador to Israel, Turkey, Japan, the Soviet Union, and the Netherlands. Career Before becoming an ambassador, Haas, a 1953 graduate of Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) ...

in 1990, where he was succeeded by Franz Bertele . During that time he became an Honorary Fellow of the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

in 1993. Most recently, he succeeded Klaus Blech as ambassador to the

in 1993 and remained in this position until he retired in 1995, whereupon Ernst-Jörg von Studnitz became his successor there. In 1997 the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

awarded him an honorary doctorate. From 1996 to 2001 he was rector of the

and lived his last years in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. He had five children from his marriage to Christa Gerke in February 1965. Otto von der Gablentz died in

in 2007 at the age of 76. He was buried in the Dahlem cemetery 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 constitu ...

Hans-Jürgen Mende Hans-Jürgen Mende (19 May 1945 in Berlin-Kreuzberg – 21 September 2018 in Rostock) was a German historian. He was a lecturer in the history of philosophy at the Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin. After the reunification of Germany (1989/90) he be ...

: ''Lexikon Berliner Begräbnisstätten''. Pharus-Plan, Berlin 2018, , p.569. The ''Otto-von-der-Gablentz-Preis'', awarded each two years in the Netherlands, to a personality or organization that has made a special contribution to promoting good relations between the Netherlands and Germany or to a united Europe, is named after him.

Honours

* 1982: Large gold medal with the star for services to the

Republic of Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine States of Austria, states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, th ...

* 1985: Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class

Works

* Hans Wolfgang Kuhn, Otto Martin von der Gablentz: ''Ausgewählte Dokumente zum Viermächte-Status Berlins.'' Forschungsinstitut der Deutschen Gesellschaft für auswärtige Politik, Frankfurt am Main 1958. * Willy Brandt, Otto Martin von der Gablentz: ''Dokumente zur Berlin-Frage. 1944–1959.'' Oldenbourg, München 1959. * Otto Martin von der Gablentz: ''Die Berlin-Frage in ihrer weltpolitischen Verflechtung 1944–1963.'' Oldenbourg, München 1963.

References

External links

Short biography
at the College of Europe * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gablentz, Otto von der 1930 births 2007 deaths German untitled nobility College of Europe alumni Rectors of the College of Europe Ambassadors of Germany to the Netherlands Ambassadors of Germany to Israel Ambassadors of Germany to Russia Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany