SIPRI honours the memory of a former member of its Governing Board, Egon Bahr, who died on 19 August. As a prominent architect of Ostpolitik, he was instrumental in securing peace and security in Europe during the cold war period. He joined SIPRI in 1981 and contributed to shaping its work until 1991.
Egon Bahr was engaged extraordinarily in SIPRI’s research. His door was always open for SIPRI staff and he made important contributions in the areas of ‘Common Security’ and ‘Europe in Transition’. He not only authored chapters in SIPRI publications but also participated in panel discussions of several SIPRI conferences, workshops and other events.
Asked in a 1997 TV interview by the German journalist Günther Gaus about how he would like to be remembered he answered: “He tried hard (Er hat sich bemüht)”.