Dear Fellow Members,
Trusting this communication finds you all well amid the rare Irish sunshine, it is with deep sadness and regret
that I inform you of the recent death of our dear friend, Ambassador Emeritus Dr. Helmut Freudenschuss,
Requiescat in Pace. I was informed of it last Thursday, and so he was remembered and honoured with a moment’s silence before the XVIII Annual Austrian History Lecture began in University College Dublin.
Solas na bhFlaitheas dár Anam uasal - Das Licht des Himmels auf seine edle Seele - The Light of Heaven upon his gentle Soul
Having studied law at the universities of Innsbruck and Salzburg (doctorate), and post-doctoral studies at the
Academy of International Law at Den Haag (The Hague) and having acquired an additional M.Econ. degree
from the London School of Economics, Helmut Freudenschuss brought his legal and economic expertise
combined with his charm and interpersonal skills to bear effectively on his service to Austria and wider society
as a diplomat. He served as Austrian Ambassador to Lebanon (1999-2004), to South Africa (2004-2008), as
director of the African Desk in the Foreign Ministry (2008-2011), and as Diplomatic Advisor the Federal
President of Austria (2011-2017). His final foreign posting was as Ambassador to Ireland (2017-2020), from
which he departed on the last flight out of Dublin airport before the country locked down during the COVID -
19 pandemic. Quite apart from his impressive professionalism which benefitted Irish-Austrian commercial,
cultural, scientific and political relations, Helmut’s connoisseurship of whiskies and cigars, his passion for
classic cars, and his proficiency at the card table, particularly in poker classics, and his warm-hearted witty
conviviality endeared him to all of us who were fortunate to know him. As he often said, his ‘real ace’ was his
beloved Sigrid whose loving care, wise counsel and companionship supported him in everything he did, and
particularly so during the past few years when his health declined. To Sigrid, and to all Helmut’s relatives and
friends, we extend our deepest condolences, our prayerful thoughts and warmest best wishes!
Always genial, kind, good humoured, perceptive and astute,
Helmut Freudenschuss epitomised the ideal of ‘the perfect ambassador’.
Declan M. Downey
Dear Fellow Members,
Trusting this communication finds you all well amid the rare Irish sunshine, it is with deep sadness and regret
that I inform you of the recent death of our dear friend, Ambassador Emeritus Dr. Helmut Freudenschuss,
Requiescat in Pace. I was informed of it last Thursday, and so he was remembered and honoured with a moment’s silence before the XVIII Annual Austrian History Lecture began in University College Dublin.
Solas na bhFlaitheas dár Anam uasal - Das Licht des Himmels auf seine edle Seele - The Light of Heaven upon his gentle Soul
Having studied law at the universities of Innsbruck and Salzburg (doctorate), and post-doctoral studies at the
Academy of International Law at Den Haag (The Hague) and having acquired an additional M.Econ. degree
from the London School of Economics, Helmut Freudenschuss brought his legal and economic expertise
combined with his charm and interpersonal skills to bear effectively on his service to Austria and wider society
as a diplomat. He served as Austrian Ambassador to Lebanon (1999-2004), to South Africa (2004-2008), as
director of the African Desk in the Foreign Ministry (2008-2011), and as Diplomatic Advisor the Federal
President of Austria (2011-2017). His final foreign posting was as Ambassador to Ireland (2017-2020), from
which he departed on the last flight out of Dublin airport before the country locked down during the COVID -
19 pandemic. Quite apart from his impressive professionalism which benefitted Irish-Austrian commercial,
cultural, scientific and political relations, Helmut’s connoisseurship of whiskies and cigars, his passion for
classic cars, and his proficiency at the card table, particularly in poker classics, and his warm-hearted witty
conviviality endeared him to all of us who were fortunate to know him. As he often said, his ‘real ace’ was his
beloved Sigrid whose loving care, wise counsel and companionship supported him in everything he did, and
particularly so during the past few years when his health declined. To Sigrid, and to all Helmut’s relatives and
friends, we extend our deepest condolences, our prayerful thoughts and warmest best wishes!
Always genial, kind, good humoured, perceptive and astute,
Helmut Freudenschuss epitomised the ideal of ‘the perfect ambassador’.
Declan M. Downey