By Heidi Trautmann

When I first met the German Ambassador Dr. Gabriela Guellil – it was on the occasion of a play at the Nicosia Municipality Theatre – I said to her quite seriously from my heart: As a German I am proud of you, of the way you do your job’ and when I said good bye to her on board of the FGS BERLIN berthed in Limassol harbour on July 04, 2014, I repeated it: I am proud of you!

It is for her sensitive way, of stretching out a hand to the other part of the island, to initiate talks with the artists and bring them together, so done in spring 2014 at her residence in Nicosia. That is building up trust and confidence.

Who is this woman who has come here to Cyprus to take over the job of Ambassador in the divided city of Nicosia in times when Cyprus was in deep difficulties.

She was born in 1959 in Glendale/USA, and is married, with two children. In 1985 she graduated with PhD from Freiburg University in ‘Islamic Sciences and Political Economy. She had a practical year as Sales Manager with Robert Bosch GmbH and joined the Federal Foreign Office, Diplomatic Academy from 1987-1989. From 1989-1992 she was with the Consulate General in Istanbul. From 1992-1995 she was again with the Federal Foreign Office in Disarmament and from 1995-1998 as Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Quito/Ecuador. Back to Europe she joined the German Embassy in Ankara Dept. of Public Relations; from 2002-2006, at the Federal Foreign Office again as Deputy Head of Division, and back to Ankara Embassy as Head of Economic Division; in 2007-211 she became Head of Division for Cultural Relations with Near and Middle East and in September 2011 she took on the assignment as Ambassador in Cyprus.  On 4 July 2014 she said her farewell to invited guests on the FGS Berlin. Her future assignment will be in Bangladesh and as she announced in her speech on that evening, it will be a joint venture together with the French Embassy, they will be sharing one building.

In her speech the Ambassador welcomed the guests in several languages, German, English Greek, Turkish and French, also on behalf of the Commander Rosenbohm of the BERLIN but held the speech in English trusting that all would be able to follow but remarked proudly that  many of her Cypriot guests and friends were fluent in the German language and she was happy to notice the strong interest in the German language especially among the young people.

She was aware that French is the language of diplomacy and for her it was a special day since France and Germany, two countruies with a special relationship,  were meeting on the same day on the level of world cup football and she would keep fingers crossed for a fair play and whoever wins will hopefully have digested the outcome of this match when they move together in Bangladesh.

With respect to Cyprus where no settlements has been found yet – the conflict is not a game of football – …. “there cannot and will not be a winner on one side and a loser on the other. Time has come for a Win-Win situation.  Today the leaders have met again to continue their dialogue, determined to find a sustainable solution to the Cyprus problem. I have confidence in the ability of both communities and their leadership to seize the positive momentum to advance in the process towards a long waited for settlement. To find a solution that everybody considers “fair” will be very difficult. But what would be extremely “unfair” to Cypriots, and especially the future generations, would be to postpone a final solution again.”  And she continued to say that in sports, especially international football the Turkish-Cypriot Team has so far not been considered but progress has been made in that matter.  “We see this as a positive signal and we do support such progress!”

She continued: “There were some remarkable events during the three years of my assignment, there was the Mari tragedy just shortly before our arrival; the virgin EU Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus;  numerous high-ranking visits such as the one by the German chancellor Angela Merkel, the counter visit by President Anastasiadis in Berlin and Hamburg, and finally the economic crisis that shook the country, all unforgettable moments, difficult ones but also exciting. Real friendships develop in challenging times.

I have learned a lot in Cyprus. Crisis management needs a strong spine. I tried my best, with the support of friends, reaching out to all relevant stakeholders and partners, loyally, reliably and faithfully, in a transparent and open-minded way. We are proud to have found friends all over the island, different nationalities, different origins and different opinions.

I thank all those who have accompanied me, advised me, supported me or criticized me constructively. I thank my team in the Embassy!”

She finished by thanking the crew of the BERLIN and wished them good speed on their way to the Horn of Africa, and she thanked Captain Pouros, Head of the Port Authorities, to have made the evening possible.

She and her husband Naguib will leave the island loaded with memories and a feeling of home….. “Ambassadors do not stay forever. We move on to represent our country, to defend our counry’s interests. We have the privilege to discover new horizons. At the same time, we depart loaded with rich memories, and for us Cyprus is part of these memories.”