Hans-Dietrich Genscher
Also known as: Hans Dietrich Genscher
Hans-Dietrich Genscher was a German statesman and a member of the liberal Free Democratic Party, who served as Federal Minister of the Interior from 1969 to 1974, and as Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs and Vice Chancellor of Germany from 1974 to 1992, making him the longest-serving occupant of either post and the only person to have held one of these positions under two different Chancellors of the Federal Republic of Germany.
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Hans-Dietrich Genscher: German reunification
A proponent of Realpolitik, Genscher has been called "a master of diplomacy". He is widely regarded as having been a principal "architect of German reunification".
Hans-Dietrich Genscher: The Night the Berlin Wall Opened, 9 November 1989
On 30 September, following negotiations with East Germany and the Soviet Union, the West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher went to the Prague embassy to personally inform the thousands of refugees that they were allowed to leave for West Germany.