Farewell to Per Rune Henriksen and Franz Thoennes

Carola VeitPresident of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) and President of the Hamburg ParliamentFarewell to Per Rune Henriksen and Franz ThönnesAt the start of the Closing SessionDear colleagues,before segueing to the closing session, I would like to say a few words about the two chairmen of the just finished session:In September, there will be general elections in two of our member countries:in Norway and Germany.I some cases, it is not quite certain ahead of the elections who will be coming back.In two cases, though, we know for certain that two colleagues who had been intensely involved in the Standing Committee will be taking their leave from their respective national parliaments: Per Rune Henriksen and Franz Thönnes.Both are social democrats with heart and passion, and both will surely be missed because of their experienced advice and their great commitment to the Standing Committee.Dear Per Rune who has represented the Norwegian delegation for several years in the Standing Committee:Our deepest gratitude for your commitment, for your well founded and factual contributions and also your efforts to balance out opinions in the background. We wish you for your further endeavours health, success and all good things, and – even though no longer in the Norwegian parliament – perhaps one or the other function in the political arena so that you may be able to further support our work.(bouquet of flowers)(And from this autumn onward, the Norwegian delegation will also have to do without their delegation secretary who has worked for many, many years with great commitment in the BSPC and will be retiring in the autumn. To you, dear Björn Andreassen, also a heartfelt thank you for your long-term commitment to the BSPC’s work and all the best for your future.)(bouquet of flowers)And now to you, dear Franz- and let me now, because of his nearly 20-year involvement in the BSPC, say a few words more:Franz Thönnes first participated in the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in 1998, only a few kilometres away – in Lübeck –, immediately next to his constituency, and has been the leader of the delegations from the German Bundestag to the BSPC.Recently, he has put his mark on a BSPC for the 20th time. And this one was again located immediately next to his home and also where he used to work professionally for many years before joining the German Bundestag.And that again precisely 10 years after he chaired the BSPC in Berlin in 2007.Thus, the circle is closing, and everything fits together in such a way as if it had been designed for him and his involvement in the BSPC.With him, we are losing a pillar that has supported this cooperation for many years, somebody who has significantly influenced and put his mark on the contents and the direction of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference for nearly 20 years.When it came to the BSPC, he was always highly committed, passionate, and also, when he had to be, tough.He has consistently brought his bearing on all positions that can be taken on within the BSPC on a parliamentary level:He was president of the BSPC and chairman of the Standing Committee 2006/2007.He was chairman of the Working Group “Labour Market and Social Welfare“ of the BSPC.Since then, he has been the rapporteur to the BSPC for this political area.And for more than a dozen years, he has been a continuous member of the Standing Committee which he chaired 2006-2007.(He was and still is the driving force for the Baltic Sea Labour Forum which was created as a result of this work.)For 10 years, he has initiated international preparatory conferences for the respective annual conference of the BSPC and intensified the cross-parliamentary communication during the annual conferences in various formats.He has also rigorously used his positions in the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Bundestag for his work in the BSPC, be it as Parliamentary State Secretary or – as in the past years – also as Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations or as Chairman of the German-Nordic Group of Parliamentarians.In terms of contents, he has secured his legacy as part of the 25th annual conference last year in Riga. His speech, always worth reading again, expressed everything that is important with regard to the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference and the Baltic Sea cooperation.Dear Franz,the BSPC has much to thank you for.We want to thank you for your highly dedicated work in the past nearly 20 years,for many good conversations and discussions,for everything that you have done to promote the Baltic Sea and the Baltic Sea cooperation.We wish you all the best for your future, many more years of building bridges in the Baltic Sea Region, in health and strength, at your home near Hamburg and in southern Sweden where you have built a 2nd residence. We hope that you will still find one or the other opportunity to continue leveraging your profound experience and your network in the Baltic Sea Region for the promotion and strengthening of the Baltic Sea cooperation.And we would like to offer you something else:One is a kaleidoscope of images that should remind you of many of us, of many situations and events.The other is something very practical:We know that Franz has used many of the opportunities offered by the BSPC work to go swimming in the Baltic Sea. Even though he may have been discussing issues with members of the Standing Committee until 1 or 2 at night, in the next morning, at 6 a.m., he was already amidst the waves of the Baltic Sea ahead of the session of the Standing Committee. Although very rarely, the chill of the Baltic Sea water may occasionally have led to a frosty contribution to the discussion.So that the bath in the Baltic Sea in the future will only be refreshing and warming afterwards, we want to give you this unique bathrobe of which there really is only one in the world:With the waves of all 22 member parliaments of the BSPC from our logo printed on it and with the inscription: Mister Ostsee,as whom we will surely remember you for many years to come.