The Director of the Branch Office of the UN Department of Public Information, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Bonn, Dr Axel Wüstenhagen (pictured on the right), retired at the end of March 2003. Mr Wüstenhagen and his team, one of the closest neighbours of the CMS and associated Agreement Secretariats on the United Nations Premises in Bonn, has built up UNIC in the past seven years to a very successful information and public relations office of the UN. At a farewell reception on 2 April, the Lord Mayor of the City of Bonn, Ms Bärbel Dieckmann, honoured his merits by stating that Mr Wüstenhagen has played a major role in bringing the UN and global topics, from conflict prevention to environment and development, to the attention of the German public, as well as decision makers.

Mr Wüstenhagen, a real global diplomat, had in the past years increasingly taken over the role of the speaker of the United Nations Agencies in Bonn vis à vis the authorities of the German Government as well as the City of Bonn and the media.

The CMS Executive Secretary and his team would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Wüstenhagen for his support, friendship and our good neighbourly relations