Tonga and Germany mark 140th year of friendship in October [1]
Friday, September 23, 2016 - 20:25. Updated on Friday, September 23, 2016 - 20:26.
The Federal Republic of Germany and the Kingdom of Tonga will mark the 140th anniversary of their diplomatic relationship in October, the new German Ambassador to Tonga HE Gerhard Thiedemann said on 21 September during his first visit to Tonga.
The ambassador said that a part of the 140th anniversary commemoration will be that the Speaker of the German Bundestag, the Federal Republic of Germany's parliament, Professor Norbert Lammert, will visit Tonga on 9 October. Prof. Lammert will be the highest ranking German government official to have ever visited Tonga.
Mr Thiedemann took over as the new German Ambassador to the Pacific from Dr Anne-Marie Schleich on 21 July 2016. He presented his credentials to King Tupou VI on Tuesday, 21 September at the Royal Palace, Nuku'alofa.
The Ambassador is based in Wellington, New Zealand, from where he covers New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Cook Islands.