Former government spokesperson Uwe-Karsten Heye has died at the age of 85. The Federal Press Office announced on Monday that he passed away on July 30.
Heye served as the spokesperson for the Federal Government from 1998 to 2002, holding the position concurrently with being head of the Federal Press Office under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD). Prior to taking his role as government spokesperson in 1998, Heye worked for many years as a journalist across various media outlets. Before even joining the federal government in 1998, he had already held a comparable function as a spokesperson for the Lower Saxony state government starting in 1990.
After leaving the Federal Press Office, Uwe-Karsten Heye took over the leadership of the Consulate General in New York in 2003. Later, from 2006 to 2010, he was the editor-in-chief of the SPD party newspaper, “Vorwärts.”
The current government spokesperson, Stefan Kornelius, praised his character, stating that Heye maintained a “collegial, appreciative interaction” with both colleagues and journalists. Kornelius added that Heye shaped his office with his knack for language and its impact, coupled with a steadfastness that he preserved even after leaving his active career. “This clarity and humanity will be missed,” Kornelius concluded.
