Guido Brunner (27 May 1930 – 2 December 1997) was a Spanish-born German diplomat and politician of the liberal

Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party is the name of several political parties around the world. It usually designates a party ideologically based on liberalism. Current parties with that name include: *Free Democratic Party (Germany), a liberal political party in ...

. He served as

European Commissioner A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent ...

for Energy, Research and Science in the Jenkins Commission from 1977 to 1981. He was a Member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the German Federalism, federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representat ...

from 1980 to 1981, Senator for the Economy in the government of

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under m ...

in 1981 and Ambassador to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

from 1981 to 1992.

Tam Dalyell Sir Thomas Dalyell, 11th Baronet, , ( ; 9 August 1932 – 26 January 2017), known as Tam Dalyell, was a Scottish Labour Party politician who was a member of the House of Commons from 1962 to 2005. He represented West Lothian from 1962 to 1983, ...

described him as "one of the unsung architects of the Europe we have today."

Obituary: Guido Brunner
''

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Career

Brunner was born and grew up in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

, where his father was a businessman. He moved to

West Germany 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 ...

after the

Second World War 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, where he studied law. He subsequently earned a PhD in law in Germany and a

licentiate's degree A licentiate (abbreviated Lic.) is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels. It may be similar to a master's degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universities in Europe, Latin A ...

in law in Spain.

Early diplomatic career

In 1955 he joined the West German diplomatic service and was posted to

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as a member of the German delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

from 1960 to 1968. He was director of the press office of the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United S ...

from 1970 to 1972 and director of planning from 1972 to 1974. He headed the West German delegation to the 1973

Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was a key element of the détente process during the Cold War. Although it did not have the force of a treaty, it recognized the boundaries of postwar Europe and established a mechanism ...

European Commissioner

He served as

for Energy, Research and Science in the Jenkins Commission from 1977 to 1981.

described him as "one of the unsung architects of the Europe we have today," and in particular noted his goodwill towards the United Kingdom.

Career in German politics

Brunner was a member of the

from 1980 to 1981. In 1981 he served as Senator for the Economy and Deputy Mayor in the government of

Ambassador to Spain

Brunner left German politics to become Ambassador to his country of birth, Spain, in 1981, and served until his retirement in 1992.

Family

Brunner was married to Christa née Speidel, the daughter of General

Hans Speidel Hans Speidel (28 October 1897 – 28 November 1984) was a German general, who was one of the major military leaders of West Germany during the early Cold War. The first full General in West Germany, he was a principal founder of the ''Bundeswehr ...

, the Supreme Commander of the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

ground forces in Central Europe from 1957 to 1963.Guido Brunner - Federal Republic of Germany
, CIA factsheet

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunner, Guido German European Commissioners 1930 births 1997 deaths German diplomats Senators of Berlin European Commissioners 1977–1981