The Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue mourns the loss of former ambassador Dr Georg Lennkh, member of the board and curator for many years

The Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue mourns the loss of former ambassador Dr Georg Lennkh, member of the board and curator for many years.

Georg Lennkh was foreign policy secretary to Federal Chancellor Bruno Kreisky and in this role played a key role in preparing the first global North-South summit in Cancun, Mexico, in 1981. He was then Austria's representative to the OECD until 1993. From 1993 to 2004, he was Head of the Development and Cooperation with Eastern Europe Section in the Foreign Ministry and played a key role in shaping Austria's development cooperation. This remained a central focus of his commitment throughout his life.

From 2005 to 2010 he was Austria's Special Envoy for Africa and from 2006 to 2010 EU Special Representative in Chad.

Georg Lennkh was a member of the board of the Bruno Kreisky Forum and a committed curator of the series „Africa. Dimensions of a Continent“ series, in which he utilised his profound knowledge, many years of experience and personal networks to bring numerous prominent African personalities to Armbrustergasse.

For Georg Lennkh, the Kreisky Forum was always a special place of inspiration. On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, he recorded the following thoughts about his work with Bruno Kreisky: „Armbrustergasse 15: How many hours and days we spent here. The parlour where we took notes of conversations with Arafat or Willi Brandt. The windows in the corner of the large hall were once the breakfast room, where the most important items on the day's programme were discussed. The garden where Bruno Kreisky sat with Olof Palme and Felipe Gonzalez. Memories are everywhere and are all the more vivid with the many photos. The aura of the house is still there. But this was not meant to be a mausoleum or a history museum.“

We will greatly miss Georg Lennkh as an inspiring colleague, sincere friend and extraordinary person and will always remember him with honour.
Our deepest sympathy goes to his family, who were also often present at the Bruno Kreisky Forum.