-> The founder of the GSG 9 counter-terrorist unit was the chairman of the KÖTTER security advisory board for more than 15 years
-> The holder of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany promoted the closer cooperation between private security companies and the public sector
Essen. The KÖTTER Group is mourning the loss of former general Ulrich K. Wegener who died on 28 December aged 88 years. The founder of the GSG 9 counter-terrorist unit was the chairman of the KÖTTER security advisory board for more than 15 years and played a key role in the founding of this panel of experts in 2000.
“The news of his death has shocked us deeply and our heartfelt sympathy goes out to his family,” said Friedrich P. Kötter, Board of Directors of KÖTTER SE & Co. KG Security, Düsseldorf. “We will always cherish the memory of Ulrich Wegener, a unique figure and impressive advisor."
Pioneering security concepts and training standards
After the successful end of the Landshut hijacking in autumn 1977 in which the GSG 9, under Wegener’s command, managed to free 92 passengers and crew from the control of terrorists at Mogadishu airport, Wegener’s tactical and operative concepts and training methods became a standard worldwide in the decades which followed in the deployment of counter-terrorist units and the development of pioneering security concepts.
Since 2000, KÖTTER Security and the private security industry also benefitted from this expertise. “With his unique specialist expertise and wealth of experience, General Wegener played a decisive role in the realisation of complex security projects and was with this also an important driving force in the closer cooperation between private security companies and the public sector,” emphasised Friedrich P. Kötter. “At the same time, he played a key role in the development and realisation of the training and further training standards within our academy – successful work which has endured to the present day."