Dr. Ulf R. Siebel, Partner at Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek, receives the Great Federal Cross of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

The Hessian Minister of Justice, Jürgen Banzer, awarded the order and certificate of this great distinction today, followed by a reception at the seat of the Hessian State Government.

Siebel has received the Cross of Merit First Class in 1994 and the Cross of Merit ribbon in 1988; in 1982, he became Officier de l'Ordre National du Mérite of the Republic of France.

Siebel (83) is honoured, inter alia, for his achievements and significant involvement in economic and legal aid to developing countries. The focus of his interests was and continues to be Africa - with which he is thoroughly familiar as a result of his extensive travel since 1942. Upon completion of his legal eduction, Siebel joined the Düsseldorfer Rheinisch-Westfälische Bank in 1950 and later Deutsche Bank. In 1958, H.J. Abs of Deutsche Bank asked Siebel to join the Bank in Frankfurt as Director of the Central Department of the Bank’s foreign branch. His responsibilities included the management of international business activities of the Bank, of foreign offices, large foreign credit facilities, project financing, and, in cooperation with the domestic department, also foreign loans and issues of development aid. For many years, Siebel has been the second spokesman of the Working Group Development Policy of the German Industry (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Entwicklungspolitik der deutschen Wirtschaft). Siebel focuses intensively on problems of foreign investments and investment protection, in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs. As successor of Abs, he became Chairman of the Association for the Promotion of Foreign Investment (Gesellschaft zur Förderung von Auslandsinvestitionen). Siebel has been Honorary President of the organization for several years.

Siebel holds other pro bono offices, e.g., in the Foreign Industry Committee of the Chamber of Commerce Frankfurt, and the Admission Commission of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. In addition, he is a member or honorary member on several supervisory and and advisory boards. 

In the legal literature, Siebel is well known as an author and editor of several publications, books and articles in the sector of international economic law.