Amb. Dr. Gebhardt von Moltke (In Memoriam)

Former German Ambassador to London; Former German Permanent Representative to NATO

Biography

He descended from the German noble family Moltke. His father was the landowner and ambassador Count Hans-Adolf von Moltke (1884–1943) on the Wernersdorf estate where he was born. His mother was Countess Davida Yorck of Wartenburg (1900–1989), the daughter of Count Heinrich Yorck of Wartenburg.

His father Hans-Adolf Helmuth Ludwig Erdmann Waldemar von Moltke (29 November 1884 – 22 March 1943) was the last German Ambassador in Poland during the Weimar Republic up to the fall of Poland, and in 1943 Ambassador in Spain during World War II.

Gebhardt von Moltke studied Economics and Law from 1958-63 in Heidelberg, Grenoble, Berlin and Freiburg im Breisgau. After passing the first state examination he completed his practical legal training from 1963-67. Upon passing the second state examination he joined the German Foreign Service in 1968. From 1969-71 he was a staff member of the Foreign Minister's office in Bonn, 1971-75 he was employed in the Economic Department of the Federal German Embassy in Moscow, 1975 at the embassy in Yaunde/Cameroon and from 1977-82 in the Personnel Administration of the Federal Foreign Office in Bonn. Gebhardt von Moltke spent the years 1982-86 in Washington as a staff member in the Federal German Embassy's Political Department. Until 1991 he headed the German Foreign Office's US department in Bonn. From 1991-97 he was Assistant Secretary General of NATO for Political Affairs in Brussels. From 1997-99 he was German Ambassador in London. 1999-03 he was the Permanent Representative (Ambassador) of the Federal Republic of Germany on the North Atlantic Council (NATO) in Brussels.