Helmut Harff

Helmut Harff (5 June 1939 – 8 September 2018) was a German brigadier general who commanded German military contingents during peacekeeping operations in Somalia and Kosovo. He was also chief of staff of the French-led Multi-National Division Southeast in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Harff was described as one of the most experienced Bundeswehr officers after it began undertaking foreign missions in the 1990s. Harff began his service in the German Army in 1959. He was known for commanding the first Bundeswehr operation outside of NATO territory, which was in support of the United Nations in Somalia, and during the Kosovo War became the first German general to take prisoners of war since World War II. He also received international attention after the media recorded a confrontation he had with a Serbian army colonel in Kosovo, successfully threatening him into removing his troops from a border post they were occupying. He retired from the military in 1999.