No sooner had Federal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle appointed him as the new Director-General for African Affairs at the beginning of 2010 than Walter Lindner was winging his way to a conference on Sudan in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. More meetings followed: in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, he and the Federal Foreign Minister took part in the Third Africa-EU Summit Conference where some 80 countries took part in consultations on “Investment, Economic Growth and Job Creation” in Europe and Africa. In view of the tense situation in Ivory Coast, Lindner was sent to Abidjan for talks with representatives of the European Union, the United Nations and Ivorian politics in December 2010. His assignment was to gain a clear picture of the situation and discuss ways out of the political crisis.
The 54-year-old German diplomat and former Federal Foreign Office spokesperson brings a wealth of crisis management experience to his new job. Before he became Director-General for African Affairs he was head of the Federal Foreign Office’s Crisis Response Centre in Berlin for two years. However, Lindner’s links with Africa stem mainly from his time as German Ambassador to Kenya between 2006 and 2009. Lindner and other diplomats used their diplomatic skills to help prevent the political crisis following the 2007/2008 elections from escalating into civil war. The ambassador post in Nairobi has certainly shaped Lindner: “Once you’ve been bitten by the Africa bug, you simply love Africa, forever.”
In his new role Lindner wants to make sure that Germany and Europe give greater priority to the continent. He is convinced that “Africa concerns all of us”, and wants to see a stronger emphasis on the neighbouring continent’s positive image, without concealing the problems. Keeping in mind the EU Strategy for Africa, which began in 2007, he is in favour of taking the ongoing dialogue more seriously and strengthening the involvement of civil society. He says it’s necessary to look not only at emergency situations but also at economic developments and movements towards democracy. In his opinion, cooperation with Africa has to be placed on a much broader basis. In this respect, Linder’s Africa bug will no doubt inspire him to play a very active role.////
