The government of Germany is closing its honorary consul office in Prince George.
Since 1999, consular services for northern B.C. originally from Germany has been offered from here. Two people have held the consul position in that time: Egon Schlick was the first, followed by Albert Koehler when Schlick retired in 2005.
The job was offered to Koehler at the beginning of Germany's foray into northern B.C. (Fort St. John also had an office for a time). He was the president of the German Canadian Congress at the time and heavily involved in business to the point so he declined, but suggested Schlick.
The German government prefers consul representatives to be under the age of 65. When it came time for Schlick to retire, Koehler found himself in a better position to help than the first time.
"I actually had my resume printed out and was sitting on the ledge of my printer. I knew I wanted something to do in this town, I love this town, so then the phone rang and it was them [the main German consul office in Vancouver]. So I threw my resume right back out again," Koehler said.
Now being 66 years of age and heavily involved in a number of high-level volunteer activities (Community Futures, Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation, president of the Northern Technical and Engineering Society, Omineca Beetle Action Coalition, many committees within these organizations, plus an elected Prince George city councillor), it was mutually agreed that he step down.
This time, however, despite some suggestions for a replacement, no one has been found to fill the position.
"The office is officially closing, but they are still thinking about how to keep going in the future," Koehler said. "I have agreed to no longer hold the official position, but to continue being a point of contact."
There are more than 10,000 people in northern B.C. for whom German is their first language. There are exponentially more who have bloodlines connected to Germany, and still more for whom business or personal interest are factors. About 15 per cent of the region's population identifies as being of German descent.
The consul's office helped with everything from import-export documents, to work/travel visas, to wills and estate services, to translation needs. Even many who are not of German descent would use the Prince George office because their route was through the popular Frankfurt Airport.
"It is a very rewarding job, but it pays no money, it is all volunteer," Koehler said. "I did it because I wished to give back to my homeland, which gave me a very good education at virtually no cost. I could also give back to my adopted homeland of Canada, which allowed my wife and I to tap into virtually unlimited opportunities...You can't watch TV your whole life, you have to stay involved in life and be working for society."
