Prince William and Hannelore Kraft at Düsseldorf – Picture by RTL TVI.
By Baron Henri Estramant.
Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Wednesday, 24 August 2016: Germany is fêting the 70th anniversary of its most populous Bundesland as well as a main trading partner for the Benelux countries . The Bundesland of North Rhine- Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen/NRW) was carved out by the British military government in 1946 after Germany’s defeat in WWII. “Operation Marriage” merged the regions of North Rhine, lands of the largely cultural Catholic Rhineland, and the predominantly cultural Protestant Westphalia.
Ever since a close link between the UK and the North Rhine-Westphalia state has endured, partially owing to the continued British military presence. The Netherlands has a plethora of military and economic interests with neighbouring NRW as well. Precisely one year ago HM King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands paid a visit to NRW, or more precisely to the city of Münster to celebrate the setting up 21 years ago of the first German-Dutch battalion (https://diplomatmagazine.eu/2015/08/27/king-attends-german-dutchs-army-anniversary/).
HRH The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was guest of honour of the Bundesland’s Premier, Hannelore Kraft at a gala in the capital of Düsseldorf, location of Tonhalle concert hall, which was likewise attended by the Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel who met the duke for the first time.
The Duke of Cambridge emphasised the nature of British-German relations with the following utterances:
“In short, what began 70 years ago as a relationship of necessity between an occupying power and a region in ruin, is today a partnership of genuine friendship and of massive mutual benefit”.
“This partnership will continue despite Britain’s recent decision to leave the European Union. The depth of our friendship with Germany and with North Rhine-Westphalia will not change.”
NRW is ruled since 2010 by a political coalition of Social-Democrats and Greens led by Premier Hannelore Kraft. NRW is a hub for foreign direct investment amongst all 16 Bundesländer because of its location, prominent urban centres as well as highly-skilled labour force.
For further information :
Premier of NRW (The Hon Hannelore Kraft): https://www.land.nrw/de/landesregierung/ministerpraesidentin
Representation of North Rhine-Westphalia to the EU (Director Rainer Steffens ): https://mbem.nrw/de/lv-eu/unser-haus-in-bruessel
German Embassy to the Netherlands (HE Ambassador Dirk Brengelmann): http://www.niederlande.diplo.de
German Embassy to Belgium (HE Ambassador Rüdiger Lüdeking): http://www.bruessel.diplo.de
German Embassy to Luxembourg (Ambassador-designate Dr. Heinrich Kreft): http://www.luxemburg.diplo.de
