Dear readers,

At the beginning of the year 2021 let’s take a look « over the fence » to Switzerland. The 100th birthday of the writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt is celebrated there in January. Dürrenmatt's works such as « The Judge and His Hangman » were mandatory reading in German lessons at Germany's high schools as well. Reason enough to revisit the still contemporary tragic comedies « The Visit » (criticism of the affluent society) or « The Physicists » (responsibility of science), which established Dürrenmatt's world fame.

Important annual dates in 2021 are also the 100th birthdays of the resistance fighter Sophie Scholl and the artist Joseph Beuys.

In 2021 we will look back on 1700 years of Jewish life in Germany with numerous events. The Jewish community in the city of Cologne is considered to be the oldest in Central and Northern Europe.

The next federal election will take place on September 26, 2021. Germans living abroad can also vote by post under certain conditions. You should submit a written request for entry in the electoral roll responsible for you in good time. Please find more information about the process here.
The corona pandemic continues to concern us. We will have to continue using virtual platforms to meet. We would be all the more pleased to be able to celebrate this year's Day of German Unity on October 3 in the usual way.

Shortly after Christmas I received the sad news of the passing of our former honorary consul in Edmonton, attorney Harald Kuckertz. At the beginning of 2019, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in Ottawa in recognition of his services to German-Canadian relations. I think back fondly on our first meeting in Edmonton in autumn 2018. I am grateful for the great personal commitment with which he accompanied me in the beginning as Consul General on foreign territory. This also applies to his commitment to the continued existence of the Honorary Consulate in Edmonton. I regret all the more that I was not able to personally bid him farewell to his post in Edmonton as a result of the corona pandemic. On behalf of the staff at the German Consulate General in Vancouver, I would like to express our deep condolences to the relatives.

Warm regards,

Dr. Klaus Schmidt

Consul General

Law Studies
University of Würzburg

Press and Information Office
Federal Government Bonn/Berlin

Assignments and Entry to the Foreign Office

Press Section
German Consulate General Los Angeles, USA

Head of Press and Information Department, Visa and Consular Section
German Embassy Ottawa, Canada

Head of Division K 01
Political and Public Relations abroad
Federal Foreign Office, Berlin

Political Section
German Embassy Tokyo, Japan

Head of Division 603 and 608
Multilateral and Media Policy / Public Diplomacy abroad
Federal Foreign Office, Berlin

Head of Cultural Section
German Embassy Tokyo, Japan

Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Economic Section
German Embassy Buenos Aires, Argentina

Consul General

German Consulate General Chengdu, China

Consul General
German Consulate General Vancouver, Canada