Ferdinand Hennerbichler Born 03-11-194603-11-1946 in Linz, Upper Austria ,Nationality: European of Austrian origin ,Current Position: Historian, ormer Diplomat and Journalist
EDUCATION
1957-1965 Collegium Petrinum, Linz (Upper Austria), A-Levels 1965
1965-1972 University of Vienna, studied History, German Philology, Linguistics, Psychology & Philosophy (Archaeology: with Richard Pittioni, 1906-1985; Classical Antiquity: Fritz Schachermeyr, 1895-1987; Austrian History: Erich Zöllner, 1916-1996; Modern History: Heinrich Lutz, 1922-1986; German Philology: Werner Welzig, 1935-2018; Indo-European Studies: Manfred Mayrhofer, 1926-2011; Philosophy: Leo Gabriel, 1902-1987; Psychology: Hubert Rohracher, 1903-1972).
1972 Doctor of Philosophy, University of Vienna
2012 Decree Professor Dr. h.c., University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region Iraq.
APPOINTMENTS
1965-1967, 1972-1973 Teacher Vienna and Wels, Austria
1967-1979, 1985-1990 Foreign Editor and Foreign Correspondent ORF
1980-1985 Austrian Foreign Ministry (Diplomatic Service, London & Athens)
1985- Journalist, Writer and Historian.
MAJOR FIELDS
Middle East, Eastern Europe, EU; Kurds; Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Israel-Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
1966-1967 Teacher, Secondary Schools, Vienna
1972-1973 Teacher, „Bruckner-Gymnasium, Wels, (German, History and Psychology)
1973-1974 Austrian National Military Service: „Hiller Kaserne, Linz-Ebelsberg
1967-1990 Working (with breaks) for Austrian Broadcasting Corporation ORF:
1974- Foreign Desk, 1976- Foreign Correspondent (EU, CEE, Middle East, Latin America)
Postings:
1976-1978 Middle East Correspondent Beirut, Cairo, Jerusalem, Damascus
1978 Correspondent Buenos Aires, Argentina
1978-1980 Teheran Correspondent („Islamic Revolution)
1975-1980 Eastern European Correspondent for first ORF CEE magazine „Drüben („over there) together with Barbara Coudenhove-Kalergi a.o. Topics: Hungary, Poland, Ex-GDR and former Yugoslavia
1980-1985 Austrian Foreign Ministry. Diplomatic Service. Press Attaché
1981-1983 Austrian Embassy London: Press & Information
1983-1985 Austrian Embassy Athens (accredited to Nicosia): Press & Culture
Since 1980 Middle East Assistant of late Austrian Chancellor Dr. Bruno Kreisky (1911-1990). Junior member of the Middle East negotiating team Bruno Kreisky and Ambassador Dr. Herbert Amry (1939-1985).
DIPLOMATIC & HUMANITARIAN & MANAGING EXPERIENCE:
Special humanitarian missions:
1981/82, 1983, 1984: Freed 11 hostages of 7 European countries in Iraq. Helped to negotiate the release of some 60 other captives.
1984: International rescue operation of French (Technicians of THOMSON), Italian, Swiss, German, Austrian and Turkish hostages in Iraq.
1984: Started mediation between Iran and France for normalization of bilateral diplomatic relations and repayment of 1 b from Paris to Tehran.
1983-85: Assisted former Austrian Federal Chancellor Dr. Bruno Kreisky and the late Ambassador Dr. Herbert Amry in Athens in the Prisoner of War Exchange between Israel and the PLO: May 1985: 1000 Palestinians and 150 Lebanese Shiites were freed via Geneva in exchange for 3 liberated Israeli soldiers.
1991, April-July: Head of the biggest Austrian relief operation for Kurdish refugees in camps in Iran. Refugee Envoy & Austrian Government Coordinator in Iran. Co -ordinated work of appr. 500 doctors, nurses and soldiers. Co-operation with humanitarian EU-initiatives.
Since 1985- Journalist, Writer and Historian
POSTINGS (fieldwork):
1985-1990 Middle East Correspondent (based in Cyprus): Worked for (selection): Austria: ORF, Wiener Zeitung, Profil, Neue Zeit; Germany: BR, WDR, SDR, SWF, NDR, RIAS, SFB, Die Zeit (Islamic Revolution Iran, Teheran), DER SPIEGEL (Chalkali-Interview); Switzerland: SDR, NZZ (Kurds restauration after 1975, Ghassemlou), Berner Zeitung.
1990-1992 EU & Europe Correspondent (based in Brussels): Writing for Profil, Wiener Zeitung, Berner Zeitung.
Since 1993 Roving Correspondent Europe (EU & CEE). Topic: EU-integration of Eastern Europe. Contributed to „The European Voice, Brussels (Turkey/Kurds).
PUBLICATIONS
1972 Doctoral Dissertation: Historical Terminology: „Der Begriff Gegenreformation etc. (Doctorate Supervisor: Heinrich Lutz, 1922-1986; Co-Thesis Supervisor: Erich Zöllner, 1916-1996), University of Vienna, Department of History.
1979 Interview mit dem iranischen Scharfrichter Chalchali. In: Der Spiegel Nr. 50 (1979) 142-143; also in: ORF-Nachlese 12 (1979) 44-45.
1980 Iran's Kurdish Rebellion and its Leaders. In: Swiss Review of World Affairs (A monthly publication of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung),
Vol. XXIX, no. 12, March 1980, 20-22.
1982 Der kurdische Widerstand 1975-1982/83, Bericht, ÖB-London-BMfAA Wien, 13. Dezember 1982, pp. 44.
1986 Die Kurden. Staatenlos in verbrannter Heimat. INTERNATIONAL 1/86. Vienna.
1986 Some Aspects of the Restoration of the Kurdish People's Movement after 1975. In: International Conference of Labour and Social History (ITH). 22 Conference 1986. Report 23. – Vienna: Europaverlag, 176-181.
1987 The Kurds. In: Wiener Zeitung, Features, 16 parts, each on p.
1988 Die für die Freiheit sterben. Geschichte des kurdischen Volkes. Preface by Bruno Kreisky. Vienna: Österreichische Staatsdruckerei.
1988 Kurdische Giftgasopfer aus dem Irak in temporären Aufnahmelagern der Türkei 1988. Lager Süüstü bei Yüksekova. Augenzeugen-Bericht. 13. September 1988.
1992 Österreich und die Kurden. In: Azadi, Freiheit in den Bergen: Schallaburg, 17. Mai - 1. November 1992. Eds. Alfred Janata et al. Vienna: Amt der Niederösterreichischen Landesregierung 1992, 206-214.
2004 Die Kurden (History of the Kurdish People). Mosonmagyaróvár: A&H Bt. / Edition FHE, 2004, pp. 701, ISBN 963 214 575 5 (out of print).
2010 Die Herkunft der Kurden. Interdisziplinäre Studie. Reihe: Historisch-anthropologi-sche Studien. Schriftenreihe des Instituts für Historische Anthropologie in Wien. Hrsg. von Hubert-Christian Ehalt. Band 23.Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Brüssel, New York, Oxford, Wien: Peter Lang, ISBN 978-3-631-59327-1.
2010 Origin of the Kurds. Vienna Lecture, 2010, excerpts. In: Proceedings of the Russian Academy of DNA Genealogy, vol. 3, no. 12 (December), 2010, 2220-2244; Foreword by Anatole A. Klyosov.
2011 The Origin of the Kurds. Lecture. – Borsdorf: Edition winterwork, 2011.
2011 Arie Lova Eliav and Bruno Kreisky's Middle East peace negotiations Israel-PLO (in German). In: Maimann, Helene: Über Kreisky. Gespräche aus Distanz und Nähe. Wien: Falter Verlag, 2011, 136-141.
2012 The Origin of Kurds. Advances in Anthropology, Vol. 02, Number 02 (May 2012), pp. 64-79;
2013 Assassination of Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou (1930-1989). New Assessment. In: Vienna Kurdish Studies Yearbook, ed. by F. Hennerbichler, Th. Schmidinger, M. Six-Hohenbalken, Chr. Osztovics, vol. 1/2013, Vienna: Wiener Verlag, pp. 288-321.
2013 The Future of the Kurdish Question in the Middle East. Lecture. II. International Tunceli (Dersim) Symposium, 20-22 September 2013, University of Tunceli (Dersim), Turkey.
2014 Kar-da KI-ka 21st ce. B.C.E. Karda Land of Valiant Mountain People Central Zagros East. Terminological Analysis. Advances in Anthropology, 4, 168-198;
2015 Hennerbichler, F. & Montgomery B.P. U.S. Restitution of the Iraq Secret Police Files from Saddam Hussein’s Regime Regarding the Kurds in Iraq. Advances in Anthropology, 2015, 5, 31-38; http://file.scirp.org/pdf/AA_2015021014524303.pdf,http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/aa.2015.51004.
2018 Hennerbichler, Ferdinand (2018). Zukunfts-Optionen von Kurden in Eurasien. In: Europa Ethnica, Eds.: Michael Geistlinger, Peter Hilpold & Georg Kremnitz; editor in chief: Max Doppelbauer, 75. vol., 1/2 2018, Vienna: Facultas, 2-30.
2018 Hennerbichler, F. (2018). Future Options of the Kurds. Part I: The Current Situation. Advances in Anthropology, 8, 175-234. https://doi.org/10.4236/aa.2018. 83009; https://www.scirp.org/Journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=86976
2018 Hennerbichler, F. (2018). Future Options of the Kurds. Part II: Historical Background. Advances in Anthropology, 8, 235-272. https://doi.org/10.4236/aa.2018.
EDITORSHIP: CO-EDITOR:
2013-2015 Vienna Yearbook for Kurdish Studies. Ed. together with Maria Anna Six-Hohenbalken, Thomas Schmidinger and Christoph Osztovics. Vol. 1-3, Vienna: Wiener Verlag etc. / Caesarpress.
2018 Europa Ethnica, Eds. Michael Geistlinger, Peter Hilpold & Georg Kremnitz; editor in chief: Max Doppelbauer, 75. Vol., 1/2 2018, Vienna: Facultas.
ORGANIZING INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES:
2015 International Conference on Genocide and Massacres of the Middle Eastern Nations. Kurdology Center, University of Sulaimani, 29-30 April 2015, Kurdistan Region - Iraq.
2018 The Future of the Kurds. First joint international forum, University of Sulaimani & Polytechnic University of Sulaimani, Ismail Besikçi Hall – The New Campus of the Sulaimani University, 9-10 October 2018. Program & Keynote Speeches .
LECTURES (selection)
2010 Austria’s Federal Democratic Constitutional and Administrative System. Contribution to the conference „Political Parties, Power and Rationalism, Institute „Khanai Hikmat for Philosophical Studies, 26-28 June 2010, Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan Region Iraq.
2010 The Origin of the Kurds. 08.11.2010, 3-4.30 pm, Hörsaal 3 (D212), NIG 2nd floor, Universitätsstraße 7, Institute of Political Science, University of Vienna.
2011 Great Britain-Iraq 1916-1958. 25.03.2011, 3-4.30 pm, Hörsaal 26, Institute of Political Science, University of Vienna. Both presentations in cooperation with Univ. Lector Mag. Dr. Azad Noree, Institute of Political Science, University of Vienna.
2011 The Arab Awakening (Der arabische Frühling. Aktuelle Lage. Überblick & Analyse). 24.05.2011, Hörsaal D Uni-Campus, Hof 10, Spitalgasse 4; together with Azad Noree (Irak und Kurdistan unter der „Schirmherrschaft der USA?); in: Der Nahe Osten im Umbruch (Interdisziplinäre Ringvorlesung). Organization: Cengiz Günay. Institute of Political Science, University of Vienna.
2012 The current situation in the Autonomous Kurdistan Region Iraq, eyewitness report (with film-clips), 15 May 2012, 1-5 p.m., Al-Ahram Center for Political and trategic Studies, Cairo.
2012 Die österreichische Nahost Friedenspolitik unter Bundeskanzler Dr. Bruno Kreisky. 15 May 2012, 7-9 p.m., Österreichisches Kulturforum, Kairo.
2012 Austria’s Middle East Peace initiatives under the late Federal Chancellor Dr. Bruno Kreisky; The current situation in the Autonomous Kurdistan Region Iraq (with current film-clips); Lectures, 16.05.2012, a.m./p.m. each ca. 3 hours, at the Diplomatic Academy of Egypt, Foreign Office Egypt, Cairo.
2013 Lecture series, SS 2013 & WS 2013-2014, University of Sulaimani: Ancient History. The origin of Kurds: Part I: Introduction, definitions, sources. Part II: Inter-disciplinary methods, historic evidence B.C.E., DNA (aDNA, Y/mtDNA), Kurdish language(s). Part III: DNA Basics: STR-SNP-HVR, Haplogroups, Haplotypes, subclades; Terminology; overview modern DNA studies . Part IV: Main results DNA studies; Discussion.
2013 The Future of the Kurdish Question in the Middle East. Lecture & Conference paper (pp. 39). II. International Tunceli (Dersim) Symposium, 20-22 September 2013, Tunceli (Dersim), Turkey.
2013-2014 WS: The Emerging of Europe. Brief Introduction into European History. Lecture, WS 2013-2014, University of Sulaimani.
2014 SS: Great Britain and Iraq 1916-1958. Lecture. Overview State of the Art Research. University of Sulaimani.
2017-2018 WS, Ismail Besikçi Hall, University of Sulaimani, the New Campus. Seminar: Origins of Kurds and Kurdish language(s).
RESEARCH PROJECTS
2012- Middle East Peace Initiatives of Bruno Kreisky. – Ongoing.
2012-2014 Mediation for the Restitution of the Iraq Secret Police Files from Saddam Hussein’s Regime regarding the Kurds in Iraq which were digitalized in the USA, and kept under the custodianship of Prof. Bruce P. Montgomery, University of Colorado at Boulder. A copy of the digitalized files was handed over to a Kurdish Iraqi delegation on September 30, 2014.
2014- (ongoing) International inter-disciplinary DNA Origin Project Kurdistan Region Iraq. Cooperation between the University of Sulaimani, the Kurdistan Institution for Strategic Studies and Scientific Research K.I.S.S.R., Sulaimaniyah, the Archaeological Museum of Slemani, the Max-Planck-Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany, and also in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Anatole A. Klyosov, Florida, USA.
2015- Scientific workup of the returned US-digitalized Iraq Secret Police Files from Saddam Hussein’s Regime regarding the Iraqi Kurds. – Ongoing.
2016 Contribution to a development concept: Reintroduction of master handy craft skills in northern Mesopotamia […] with emphasis on environment protection, reforestation and integration of vocational schools and colleges for craftsmanship and trade. Paper together with Prof. Dr. Polla Khanaqa, President of the Kurdistan Institution for Strategic Studies and Scientific Research (KISSR), Sulaimaniyah. Recommended by the European Commission DEVCO/H2 Ref. Ares (2016) 4470769 - 17/08/2016 for The Madad Trust Fund implementation.
2016 Contaminated Water Kurdistan Region Iraq. Paper together with Prof. Dr. Polla Khanaqa, President of the Kurdistan Institution for Strategic Studies and Scientific Research (KISSR), in cooperation with the Governorates Sulaimaniyah and Halabja. Urging the construction of a clean water & comprehensive sewerage system in the Kurdistan Region Iraq.
2017- „Lösungsansätze und Strategien-Entwicklung zur Verringerung der durch Kriege verursachten ökologischen Schäden im Irak. Paper together with Prof. Dr. Polla Khanaqa, Sulaimaniyah. – Ongoing.
2018-2019 International scientific assistance to collect evidence for a Yezidi-genocide in Iraq and to submit conclusive data to the UNSC-IIIT investigation mission and the ICC in The Hague.
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
1967 Distelernte. Poems. Vienna: Europäische Verlagsanstalt.
1986 Freeing of Hostages in Kurdistan. A Report (in German). Vienna: Österreichische Staatsdruckerei.
1996 Handbook EU-Austria-Slovakia. Vienna: Computer print.
MEDIA CONTRIBUTIONS
1974-2012 More than 500 articles on Kurds, Turkey, Iran and Iraq as well as other Middle Eastern topics in various European publications, Radio- and TV-stations; frequent appearances as expert in European media.
PICTURE EXHIBITION:
2012 Exhibition of historic pictures documenting the Kurdish struggle for freedom 1975-1990 by Ferdinand Hennerbichler. Red Intelligence Museum, Sulaimaniyah. Opening ceremony 9th October 2012 in the presence of Hero Ibrahim Ahmed.
HONOURS & DECORATIONS
• Ibrahim Ahmed Prize 2017 (1of 6)
• Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur (Officier), President François Mitterrand, France, 1986
• Phoenix Order (Commander), President Constantine Karamanlis, Greece, 1984
• Order of Merit for Services rendered to the Republic of Austria, Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, 1982
• Order of Merit for Services rendered to the County of Styria, Governor Josef Krainer jun., 1982
• Honour and Gratitude of the German Government, Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher
• Humanitarian Medal of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany)
• Human Rights Bravery (Rotary Club Vienna