Düsseldorf, Business, 3 February 2023

The Die Familienunternehmer (family entrepreneurs) Regionalkreis Niederrhein invited to the traditional New Year's reception in the elite location of the Industrie-Club Düsseldorf. The guest speaker was none other than one of the most interesting politicians in Germany at the moment, who will be taking up a "hot" job in the summer, namely that of German Ambassador to Moscow. Guest speaker Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, designated German ambassador in Moscow, spoke about the war in Ukraine in his lecture entitled "Our country in the endurance test - What war, inflation and the energy crisis mean for politics in Germany and Europe" in front of about 200 entrepreneurs.

Alexander Graf Lambsdorff on 2 February 2023, Industrieclub Düsseldorf ©Detlef Ilgner

Industrieclub Düsseldorf ©Detlef Ilgner

The regional chairman of the "Die Familienunternehmer", whose member companies generate an annual turnover of approx. 460 billion euros, is Marco van der Meer, entrepreneur from Holland. In his welcoming speech, he had words of praise for the state policy of NRW, but above all emphasised the importance of self-employment for the prosperity of the state. Many new members, entrepreneurs, but also self-employed were personally welcomed as new members. This was followed by a lecture by Dr. Tilman Steinert, board member of "Die Jungen Unternehmer" (young entrepreneurs): Self-employment as an important factor for social advancement in Germany.

The guest of honour

Count Alexander von Lambsdorff will take up the post of German Ambassador in Moscow in the summer. Up to now, he has been deputy chairman of the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag, responsible for foreign, security, European and development policy as well as human rights. Since the 20th parliamentary term, he has also been chairman of the German-Baltic Parliamentary Group and a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly as well as the Parliamentary Control Panel on the Monitoring of Intelligence Services.

"2022 was a hammer year"

Lambsdorff began his speech with analysing the upheaval of the past year. The first turning point, he said, was the day the land war returned to Europe. When asked by the audience whether he thought Putin was crazy, Lambsdorff found very cautious words. He stated that one could get an impression of Putin's character by reading his essay on the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. He asked the audience to see the events from the Kremlin's perspective, from which the continuity of Russia's imperial agenda would emerge. But all this would also mean supporting Ukraine.

Russian roots

Count Alexander von Lambsdorff himself has Russian roots. The Lambsdorffs stayed at the Russian court as early as the beginning of the 17th century. Lambsdorff's father was cultural attaché at the German embassy in Moscow and became the first German ambassador to Latvia in 1991. In an interview with the "Frankfurter Rundschau" in spring 2021, Lambsdorff even said that two hearts beat in his chest. At the beginning of his diplomatic career, he was stationed in Siberia for two months. There he played football in an academic team at minus 15 degrees, an experience he was visibly proud of. He also completed a language course there.

"Turning point"

The central theme of his lecture was the term "turning point". He described the change in energy costs since Germany stopped buying oil from Russia as an important turning point, as well as Nordstrom 2 and the turning point of inflation. 

Lambsdorff also found time to point out positive results of the year 2022, such as the Bundeswehrbeschaffungsbeschleunigungsgesetz (Bundeswehr Procurement Acceleration Act), the 49 Euro ticket, the abolition of compulsory masks in trains and buses and the price brake for electricity. He found words of praise for what he described as a more active trade policy, which had led to new trade agreements.

Encouragement for entrepreneurs

He found concluding words for the entrepreneurs present. Entrepreneurs should be encouraged to enter new markets and develop new products.

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Graf Lambsdorff studied history and international relations at Georgetown University in Washington D.C.. In 1995, he joined the Foreign Service of the Federal Republic of Germany, where he first worked in the Policy Planning Staff and later at the German Embassy Washington D.C., before leaving the Foreign Office in 2004 due to his mandate in the European Parliament

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See here the pictures of the evening:

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