SOCIETY 367 / 2015

DIPLOMATIE
PORTRÄT
Official visit to the United Nations in Vienna,
from left: H.E. Albrecht Boeselager, Grand
Chancellor of the Sovereign Order of Malta;
Ambassador Prof. Günther A. Granser, Head
of the Permanent Observer Mission of the
Sovereign Order of Malta to the United Nations
in Vienna; H.M.E.H. Fra‘ Matthew Festing,
Prince and Grandmaster of the Sovereign Order
of Malta; H.E. Yuri Fedotov, Director General of
the UNOV and Executive Director of the UNODC.
Reception in Vienna: Ban Ki-moon,
Secretary General of the United
Nations, and Prof. Günther A. Granser,
Chairman OiER International Council.
Presentation in Vienna: Dr. Heinz
Fischer, Federal President of State
of the Republic of Austria and Prof.
Günther A. Granser.
A Life Committed
To Worldwide
Cooperation
Life Sciences: Rektor Univ. Prof.
Dr. Martin Gerzabek , BOKU,
Prof. Günther A. Granser, Prof.
Dr. Bernd Eichwald, Technische
Universität München
Ambassador Prof. Günther A. Granser devoted
more than 45 years of his life to international
service with a focus on humanitarian diplomacy.
R
ealizing sustainable development
and smart growth is the decisive
strategic challenge of our generation.
Throughout most of history,
the tasks of integrating economic
development and expansion, social inclusion, and
environmental sustainability were mostly local or
regional issues. In the 21 st century, however, they
are indisputably global. Only through worldwide
cooperation can individual states overcome the
interconnected global-scale predicaments of economic
volatility, extreme poverty, social inequality,
and environmental deterioration. With a few
noteworthy exceptions, however, many people
have not yet fully grasped the enormity of the
tasks ahead. One of the men who has realized and
accepted the complex challenge is Ambassador
Prof. Günther A. Granser, who devoted more than
45 years of his life to international service and diplomatic
as well as economic leadership.
In the late 1960s, Prof. Granser assumed responsibility
and became an executive officer of
the OiER – the Organization for International Economic
Relations. Thus, he laid the foundation for
Fotos: OiER, SMOM
82 | SOCIETY 1_2015