Peter Florin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Peter Florin
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Peter Florin and Kurt Waldheim
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| President of the United Nations General Assembly | |
| In office 1987–1988 |
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| Preceded by | Humayun Rashid Choudhury |
| Succeeded by | Dante Caputo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 October 1921 Cologne, Germany |
| Died | 17 February 2014 (aged 92) Berlin, Germany |
| Political party | Socialist Unity Party of Germany |
| Parents | Wilhelm Florin (1894–1944) Therese Althammer/Florin (1902–1990) |
| Alma mater | D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology |
| Awards | Hero of Labour (1986) Star of People's Friendship (1985) Order of Karl Marx (1981) Order of the Patriotic War (1970) Banner of Labor (1965) Medal for Fighters Against Fascism (1958) Patriotic Order of Merit in Silver (1955) Order of the Red Star (1944) |
| Military Service | |
| Allegiance | Soviet Union |
| Service/ |
Red Army |
| Years of service | 1941–1944 |
| Battles/wars | Second World War |
Peter Florin (born October 2, 1921 – died February 17, 2014) was an important politician and diplomat from East Germany. He is best known for being the President of the United Nations General Assembly from 1987 to 1988. He worked to build connections between countries.
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Peter Florin's Early Life
Peter Florin was born in Cologne, Germany, on October 2, 1921. His father, Wilhelm Florin, was a well-known political leader before World War II.
In 1933, when Adolf Hitler came to power, Peter Florin and his family left Germany. They moved because people with certain political beliefs were treated unfairly. They first went to France and then to the Soviet Union.
In the Soviet Union, Peter Florin attended the Karl Liebknecht School. He also studied chemistry at the D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology.
During World War II, he joined the Soviet partisans and fought in Belarus. In 1944, Florin became an editor for Freies Deutschland. This was a weekly newspaper that spoke out against the Nazis. After the war, he returned to Germany. He was part of a group that helped set up the new government in the Soviet-controlled area.
Peter Florin's Career in Politics
After the war, Peter Florin began his political career in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). He served as the vice-president of the local parliament in Wittenberg. He also worked as the chief editor of the daily newspaper Freiheit.
From 1949 to 1952, he was an advisor for East Germany's foreign affairs ministry. In 1953, he became the head of the foreign affairs department for the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. This was the main political party in East Germany.
Diplomatic Roles and International Work
From 1954 to 1971, Florin was a member of East Germany's parliamentary committee on foreign affairs. He even led this committee for some time.
Between 1967 and 1969, Florin was East Germany's ambassador to Czechoslovakia. He supported the Soviet Union's actions during the Prague Spring in 1968. This was a time when people in Czechoslovakia wanted more freedom. In 1969, he became the secretary of state and first deputy foreign minister.
From 1973 to 1982, Peter Florin was East Germany's main representative to the United Nations. This meant he spoke for his country at the UN. In 1982, he became the president of East Germany's national commission for UNESCO.
His biggest role came in 1987 and 1988. During this time, he was the president of the forty-second session of the United Nations General Assembly. This is a very important position where he led discussions among many countries.
Peter Florin's Personal Life
Peter Florin was married and had three children. His wife, Edel, was a professor of Russian literature at Humboldt University in East Berlin in the late 1980s.
Florin was very good at languages. He spoke German, Russian, and English fluently. He also spoke good French. During his time as president of the UN General Assembly, delegates gave him a nickname. They called him 'Comrade Glasnost'. This was because they saw him as a symbol of the modern Communist era under Mikhail Gorbachev.
Peter Florin passed away in 2014 at the age of 92.
