Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski

Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski (24 July 1922 – 24 February 2005) was a West German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He was a member of the German Bundestag from 1957 to 1990, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation from 1966 to 1968, Minister of State in the Federal Foreign Office from 1974 to 1976, and then Minister of State in the Federal Chancellery until 1979 and again in 1982.

Wischnewski earned the nickname "Ben Wisch" from West German Chancellor Willy Brandt due to his strong contacts in the Arab world and his engagements with the Algerian National Liberation Front (NLF). As a close confidant of Brandt's successor, Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, Wischnewski served as a special representative for negotiations during the Red Army Faction (RAF) kidnappings in the "German Autumn" of 1977. In the 1980s, he led negotiations for the release of hostages and facilitated peace talks in Latin America and the Middle East. Provided by Wikipedia