Jürgen Ruhfus

Jürgen Ruhfus's connection with the United States began as a Fulbright scholar in Denver. He studied law in Munich and Münster before a diplomatic career that took him to Dakar and Athens, the Foreign Office press department, and the embassy in Kenya. In 1976 he moved to the Chancellery to lead its department for foreign relations and external security. ⁴

After serving as ambassador in London and as Foreign Office state secretary, Ruhfus became ambassador in Washington in 1987. He represented West Germany during the collapse of the East German regime and remained after unification. On the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour in October 1989, he discussed the flow of East German refugees. ^{4, 2}

Ruhfus retired from diplomatic service in 1992 and joined the advisory board of Germany's Fulbright Alumni Association. He chaired the German British Society from 1993 to 1998 and published a memoir of his diplomatic career. He died in 2018. ^{4, 3, 1}