Ulrich K. Wegener (88)

The founding father and first commander of Border Guard Group 9 (GSG 9), retired General in the Federal Border Guard (BGS). D. Ulrich K. Wegener, passed away on December 28, 2017 at the age of 88. After the tragedy of the 1972 Munich Olympics assassination, he was commissioned by Federal Interior Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher to set up a special unit as the BGS liaison officer at the Federal Ministry of the Interior at the time. By breaking new ground, overcoming resistance and establishing international contacts, he was able to report the readiness for action of the first two operational units of GSG 9 in April 1973. General Wegener personally led the most famous operation to successfully free all hostages, the storming of the Lufthansa aircraft "Landshut" in Mogadishu, only four years after its commissioning. Until his death, he still maintained close contact with the unit, passed on his own experience and was always interested in the further development of the GSG 9.