Helmut Harff

Helmut Harff (5 June 1939 – 8 September 2018) was a German brigadier general who commanded German military contingents during peacekeeping operations in Somalia and Kosovo. He was also chief of staff of the French-led Multi-National Division Southeast in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Harff was described as one of the most experienced Bundeswehr officers after it began undertaking foreign missions in the 1990s.

Harff began his service in the German Army in 1959. He was known for commanding the first Bundeswehr operation outside of NATO territory, which was in support of the United Nations in Somalia, and during the Kosovo War became the first German general to take prisoners of war since World War II. He also received international attention after the media recorded a confrontation he had with a Serbian army colonel in Kosovo, successfully threatening him into removing his troops from a border post they were occupying. He retired from the military in 1999.

Early life and education Harff was born on 5 June 1939 in Mönchengladbach, Germany. His military education included the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg and the NATO Defense College in Rome. He was described as one of the most experienced Bundeswehr officers in the early years of its foreign missions.

After the UN Security Council authorized a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 on 10 June 1999, and it was also approved in Germany by a vote of the Bundestag, the German unit in North Macedonia entered Kosovo on 11 June 1999 immediately after the successful NATO bombing of Yugoslavia campaign ended the Kosovo War. They became the first German contingent of the NATO-led Kosovo Force. They entered while the Serbian Army was still in the process of withdrawing from the region.

Later life Harff retired from the military in 1999.

Harff died on 8 September 2018, at the age of 79.

Awards and decorations Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1st class Cross Badge of Honour of the Bundeswehr in Gold United Nations Medal