In honour of Maciej Natecz on the occasion of his 80

In honour of Maciej Natecz on the occasion of his 80

birthday.

My first encounter with Maciej Nalecz was in Madras, India, at the 25 Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs, held there in January 1976. Maciej was the Chairman of the Pugwash Council, and I had to report to that assembly on the state of preparations for the 27th Pugwash Conference to be held in Munich in 1977. It was in the middle of the Cold War, Germany was still divided into two independent states, the Munich Conference would be the first annual Pugwash Conference in Germany and was to be a particularly large

"quinquennial" one. I was quite prepared for critical questions and remarks.

After all, the Pugwash Council consisted of representatives of East and West and of the "Third World", and some of them could be assumed to be opposed to West German policies.

Indeed, some thoughts in this direction must have been in the air, and certain tensions could be felt by sensitive observers. However, to my pleasant surprise, Chairman Maciej Nalecz managed in a very diplomatic way to focus the discussion on the subject of joint interest - the necessities for a successful conference - and to avoid all topics which could lead to frictions. Thereby he created an atmosphere of cooperation and, after a while, even friendship between persons coming from different social and political systems. The meeting, and afterwards the conference, became a success.

Later on, when attending further meetings of the Pugwash Council as deputy to our official representative on the Pugwash Council, Prof. Glubrecht, I was able to experience more often the remarkable mediating qualities of Maciej Nalecz.

The Cold War continued till the end of the 1980s, and so did conflicts in the Middle East and in other parts of the world. Pugwash addressed many of the problems originating from these antagonisms, and a great deal of good will and diplomacy was required to steer the discussions in the Council in such a way that consensus was reached on the agenda of conferences, workshops and symposia and on the nature and wording of public statements and declarations issued by Pugwash. Maciej Nalecz, in spite of his manifold duties and responsibilities in his scientific field, was always willing, ready and able to do this. To mediate in conflicts, to help in avoiding war, and in particular nuclear war, is the main task of Pugwash, and Maciej thus rendered an invaluable service to the goals of Pugwash. Small wonder, that he was re-elected again and again to his chairmanship, and when the Pugwash Conferences were awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace -together with Pugwash President Joseph Rotblat - it was well deserved that Maciej Nalecz was one of the speakers during the ceremonies in Oslo.

Unfortunately, mediating, friendship-creating qualities like those possessed by Maciej Nalecz will still be required urgently for a long time to come on the international scene. Dangerous conflicts are still part of our life. It is to be hoped that mediators like Maciej Nalecz will always be available. He has set an example.

Klaus Gottstein