In Memoriam Vladimir Petrovsky

Op 21 februari 2014 overleed, na een lang en moeilijk ziekbed, in Moskou op tachtigjarige leeftijd ons oud-bestuurslid, oud-ambassadeur Prof. Dr. Vladimir Fedorovich Petrovsky. Deze aimabele en eloquente academicus cum diplomaat heeft zich zijn gehele leven ingezet om door middel van dialoog te komen tot stabilisering en inbedding van potentiële oorlogshaarden.

Bij de destalinisatie door Nikita Chroesjtsjov vanaf 1956, werd ook de diplomatieke delegatie bij de Verenigde Natie in New York vervangen en zo kwam het dat de jonge diplomaat Vladimir Petrovsky reeds op 24-jarige leeftijd als attaché aan de delegatie werd toegevoegd; een bliksemcarrière in de diplomatieke dienst volgde. Mede door zijn inzet als Russisch onderhandelaar bij de Verenigde Naties in New York, ondermeer tijdens de Cubacrisis (1962), is de Koude Oorlog niet ontvlamd geraakt. Hij kon hier smeuïg over vertellen: zo zat hij naast Chroesjtsjov tijdens het schoenincident en wist hij van de capriolen die Fidel Castro in New York uithaalde. Uit deze jaren stamt ook zijn goede persoonlijke relatie met invloedrijke Amerikanen, zoals David Rockefeller en John C. Whitehead.

Van 1993 t/m 2002 was Vladimir Petrovsky als Directeur-Generaal van het United Nations Office Geneva, in de hiërarchie de tweede man na de Secretaris Generaal van de Verenigde Naties. Tevens was hij secretaris-generaal van de VN Ontwapeningsconferentie en heeft hij daarnaast belangrijke bijdragen geleverd in de oplossing van bedreigende problemen rond ondermeer Libië en Albanië.

Tevens was hij als historicus de auteur van diverse boeken over diplomatie en als hoogleraar verbonden aan de Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Hij was frequent deelnemer aan een groot aantal denktanks, waaronder het World Economic Forum (Davos). Zie bijv. een lezing hier. Zijn laatste publieke optreden was in 2009 voor het Institute for Cultural Diplomacy in Berlijn (interview).

Buitendien was hij een bijzonder aimabel en eloquent academicus met veel gevoel voor het cultureel erfgoed. Zo heeft hij in samenwerking met ons museum de Maecenas World Patrimony Foundation opgezet met het doel om belangrijke kunstwerken, zoals Marc Chagall’s “Peace Window” in de hal van het hoofdkantoor van de VN in New York en Hendrik Sørensen’s monumentale wandschildering “La Rêve de la Paix” in de bibliotheek van het Palais des Nations in Genève, te restaureren.

Na zijn afscheid van de Verenigde Naties in 2002 heeft hij zich vooral sterk gemaakt voor culturele dialoog in lijn met het door hem in gang gezette VN actie voor Dialogue among Civilizations en was hij oprichter van de ngo Comprehensive Dialogue among Civilizations. Een voorbeeld vindt u hier: “When people share beautiful things, they open their minds”.

Tevens was hij als bestuurslid betrokken bij onze museumstichting. Op zijn initiatief heeft ons museum tussen 1999 en 2002 jaarlijks een tentoonstelling in het Palais des Nations georganiseerd.

Met het heengaan van Vladimir Petrovsky hebben wij niet alleen een bijzonder diplomaat verloren, die door zijn inzet voor dialoog onze beschaving mede behoed heeft voor een nieuwe wereldbrand, maar tevens een goed mens, die niet alleen wereldleiders aansprak, maar ook tot en met de schoonmakers in het Palais des Nations met persoonlijk respect behandelde. Hij was een dierbare vriend.

Vladimir Fedorovich Petrovskiy

former Director-General of the UN in Geneva, Under-Scretary-General of the United Nations and Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Disarmament

Volgograd (Stalingrad) 29-04-1933 – Moskou 21-02-2014

Knowledge-Based Society as a Way to Peace, Stability and Well-Being
The knowledge-based society in Europe set by the European Council as a strategic goal for 2010 should serve as an inspiring example for all the countries in our world.

The basic aim of such society to provide sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion is inseparable from the maintenance of strategic security in a new interdependent and multicultural world. 

Promotion of the knowledge-based societies which should be conceives as plural, variable and open to democratic choices makes it necessary to answer the questions what is to be done and how. The European experience should be used together with the recommendation of the UN, UNESCO, ILO and other international bodies. Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are of particular importance.

The promotion of the knowledge-based society in the world demands a responsible constitutional democratic governance both at national and global level. The task of such governance is to make the effective decisions and put them into practice through coherent and systematic approach to facilitate developing the potential of each individual and bringing human beings together to adapt themselves jointly to rapid and accelerating pace of changes in the world.

Professional Titles
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary since 1980
Professor of International Relations

Public Service

2002-2013
Senior Research Fellow, UNITAR, Geneva
Consultant to the Russian Council of Federation, Moscow
Head of the Center for Politico-Diplomatic, Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue, Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
Chairman of the NGO Association “Comprehensive Dialogue Among Civilizations” (CDC), Geneva
Chairman of the Board of Foundation “Dialogue among Civilizations”, Amsterdam
Chairman of the Board of Maecenas World Patrimony Foundation, Geneva – Amsterdam
Member of the Board of Geelvinck Hinlopen Huis Foundation, Amsterdam

1993-2002
Under-Secretary-General, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva
Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament
Personal Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the Conference on Disarmament

1998
Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Libya
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Albania

1992-1993
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, United Nations, New York
Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Libya

1992
Representative of Russia to the NATO Council of Cooperation

1991
First Deputy Foreign Minister of the USSR
Executive Secretary of the OSCE Conference on the Human Dimension

1986-1991
Deputy Foreign Minister of the USSR
Head of USSR Delegations to the United Nations General Assembly, UNESCO, IAEA,UNEP, and various European fora, including the CSCE

1979-1986
Head of International Organizations’ Department, Foreign Ministry of the USSR
Member of the USSR Foreign Ministry’s Collegium

1972-1975
Secretary-General of the USSR Delegation to the CSCE, Geneva

1971-1979
Chief Counselor, Head of American Division of the Policy Planning Department, Foreign Ministry of the USSR

1964-1971
Political Affairs Officer, Chief of Unit, United Nations Secretariat, New York

1961-1964
Second Secretary, Office of the Foreign Minister of the USSR

1957-1961
Attache, Permanent Mission of the USSR to the United Nations, New York

Other Professional Activities
Frequent guest lectures at universities, Foreign Police Associations and World Affairs Councils in the US and Europe

Formal Education
Doctorate in History, Institute of international Relations and World Economy, 1975
LL.D, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, 1962
MA, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, 1957

Significant Publications
Foreign Service of Great Britain, 1958
Diplomacy of 10 Downing Street, 1964
Foreign Policy Thinking in the United States: Theories and Concepts, 1976
Doctrine of National Security in the US Global Strategy, 1980
Dialogue for Peace. Participation of the USSR in Multilateral Diplomacy, 1980
Disarmament: Concept, Problems and Mechanisms, 1983
Security in the Era of Nuclear and Outer Space Technology, 1985
Numerous booklets and articles on foreign policy issues, e.g. ‘Diplomacy as an instrument of good governance’ (1998)

Honors
Order of the Red Banner of Labor, 1988 (USSR)
Order Badge of Honor, 1975 (USSR)
Order ‘For Merits’, 2001 (Poland)
Various Russian and foreign medals
Numerous Academic Awards

Professional Memberships
Board, Reseau universitaire international de Geneve (RUIG)
International Institute of Strategic Studies, London
Academy of Military Service, Moscow
International Information Academy, Moscow
Russian Academy of Entrepreneurship, Moscow
Russian Academy of Astronautics, Moscow
Academy of Natural Sciences of the Russian Federation, Moscow

Vladimir Petrovsky was married and has one daughter.

Interview uit 1986

Zie ook de korte terugblik in een recent artikel van UN Forum; citaat: “Secretary General Dr. Boutros-Ghali, who needed a more experienced political figure, appointed Vladimir Petrovsky, a former Russian Deputy Foreign Minister who made a remarkable impact, playing a pivitol role in disarmament negotiations and other delicate issues.”

In memoriam in UN Special

Terugblik op zijn carrière in UN Special 2002

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In Memoriam: Vladimir Petrovsky

Vladimir Petrovsky, former United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs (1992) and Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva (1993-2002), as well as Deputy Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union (1986-1991), passed away in Moscow on February 21, 2014 after a long and severe illness. The funeral took place on February 25 among the circle of family and friends.

Mr. Petrovsky had a long and illustrious career; many called him the “perfect diplomat”. Living through the difficult and intense times of the Cold War, he was later involved in the foreign policy process during the perestroika period as first Deputy Foreign Minister under President Gorbachev.

Security policy was his forte, and he played a leading role in achieving the signing of the Helsinki Final Act, in 1975 – thirty-five States, including the United States, Canada and most European states, signed the declaration in an attempt to improve relations between the Communist bloc and the West – and the comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1996, both very important stepping stones on the way to a more secure and peaceful world.

While in his earlier years his work was clearly guided by classic diplomatic guidelines, later, in his role as United Nations Under-Secretary-General, he more and more promoted a comprehensive way to solving the world’s problems, including not only political actors, but also civil society, academics, religious and spiritual groups and even artists and businesses. Today this has become a much more common approach.

In Geneva he opened up the United Nations Office to the public through “open days”; he also strongly connected the different UN agencies together and greatly improved relations with the host nation Switzerland through regular meetings with the government in Bern. He had a strong and clear vision and even dreamt of Geneva as a place where peace may flourish, change is welcome and diversity embraced and, perhaps more concretely, where specialists and luminaries from all fields come together and define and implement the new security paradigm.

It was this personal aspiration for peace, combined with his goodwill and patience, perseverance, wisdom and integrity, that gave weight to his words and made him a friend to many, outside the professional realm of the negotiating table.

In Vladimir Petrovsky the world has lost a rare personality, who loved the world and served it all his life with an untiring enthusiasm and hope.

May he rest in peace.

New York, February 28, 2014

Shashanka Michael Karlen, former Secretary-General
Comprehensive Dialogue among Civilizations (CDAC)
(an NGO founded by Mr. Petrovsky following his UN career)

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http://itar-tass.com/obschestvo/1002835

MOSCOW, February 25. / ITAR-TASS

The former first deputy head of the Foreign Ministry, the retired Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Vladimir Petrovsky, died in Moscow on February 21.

Petrovsky began his diplomatic career in the Soviet permanent mission to the UN in New York; during the period from 1964 to 1971 he held various positions in the secretariat of this global organization. In 1986, the diplomat was appointed to the post of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and in 1991 he was appointed as the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR.

In 1992, Vladimir Fedorovich returned to New York as Under-Secretary-General of the UN and the head of the political department of the organization’s secretariat.

“At these high positions Vladimir Petrovsky worked for the good of the motherland, he has made a significant personal contribution to solving the most complex problems of diplomatic and foreign policy interests of defending the country”, – said the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. – “After his retirement in 2003 he continued his activities as Chief Scientific Officer in the Institute of USA and Canada.” He wrote a number of books on international politics and international law.

The Ministry also mentioned Petrovsky’s management capacities which always complemented his ability to build team relationships. “Bright and kind memories of Vladimir Fedorovich will forever remain in the hearts of his colleagues and friends,” said a statement by the Foreign Ministry.

In memoram in Rusland:

http://news.mail.ru/society/17126372/

http://www.mid.ru/brp_4.nsf/newsline/F9E5FA07165F5A5344257C8A003D6BE8

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Fotobijschriften Peace Window Dedication Ceremony: