Explore popular quotes and sayings by a German statesman Guido Westerwelle.
Last updated on December 19, 2024.
Guido Westerwelle was a German politician who served as Foreign Minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice-Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011, being the first openly gay person to hold any of these positions. He also led the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) from 2001 until he stepped down in 2011. A lawyer by profession, he was a member of the Bundestag from 1996 to 2013. For his party he was also its first and so far only Chancellor candidate in the 2002 federal election, becoming also the youngest candidate for the office of Chancellor to date.
As a minister, I would rather be criticized for thoroughly weighing the options, and sometimes even voicing my doubts, than to be reproached for recklessly sending German soldiers into combat.
Military missions cannot be a normal tool of politics, but instead must remain the great exception.
I was never a member of the peace movement or a pacifist, nor was I ever carried away from a demonstration outside a military barracks. Perhaps that's why I don't feel the need to compensate for anything.
The fact that someone didn't experience the war itself doesn't mean that he doesn't perceive its consequences.
I'm completely opposed to the idea of becoming accustomed to foreign military campaigns.
As foreign minister I cannot allow myself to be guided by emotions.
Military missions are not democratic development aid.
I sometimes read that it's time for German democracy to finally grow up. I don't see it as a sign of maturity if we treat military missions as something normal.