Hans-Dietrich Genscher

Hans-Dietrich Genscher

As long-serving foreign minister of the Federal Republic of Germany, Hans-Dietrich Genscher shaped West German and later all-German foreign policy for nearly two decades. From 1974 to 1992 he was one of the longest-serving foreign ministers in the Western world, holding the office under four chancellors. Genscher, born in 1927 in Reideburg near Halle, became particularly known for his policy of détente, which favoured accommodation and dialogue with the Eastern Bloc. He played a decisive role in the CSCE process, which with the 1975 Helsinki Final Act created an important framework for human rights and security in Europe. His political style, often called "Genscherism," stood for pragmatic multilateralism and the conviction that foreign-policy stability is secured through steady channels of dialogue.

Genscher experienced his most enduring historic moment on the night of 30 September 1989: from the balcony of the West German embassy in Prague, he announced to the East German refugees stranded there that they would be allowed to leave for the Federal Republic. This sentence, drowned out by a wave of jubilation, symbolises the momentum that led, just weeks later, to the fall of the Berlin Wall. As foreign minister, Genscher then became one of the central figures in German reunification, particularly in the Two Plus Four negotiations, which in 1990 established the foreign-policy foundation for the united German state. Germany honours him with this 2-euro commemorative coin in 2027 as part of the series "Unity and Justice and Freedom," recognising him as one of the defining figures of recent German history.