Mr. Jan Olaf Hausotter, 1976 - 2010
Political Affairs Officer (Germany)
Jan Olaf Hausotter, a national of Germany, worked as Political Affairs Officer for the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) since 2007. He joined the UN in 2005 in New York as a Junior Professional Officer in the Security Council Affairs Division of the Department of Political Affairs in 2005.
Jan was said to have been thrilled to be heading to MINUSTAH, in the hope that it would be the final UN mission in Haiti, since he believed in the importance of governments in delivering a credible peace dividend to its citizens.
Described as “a deep thinker, a brilliant mind” and an “incredibly hard worker” by those who knew him, Jan’s passion for peacekeeping was demonstrated in a paper he wrote about his work in Haiti for The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, a highly-respected journal published by Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
He was “so committed to his work and his co-workers that it wasn’t unusual for him to leave work at dawn,” said a colleague.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, colleagues remembered Jan’s “caring for nature and desire to serve the humanitarian cause.” One close friend wrote, “Jan was truly a good person, he always had a smile on his face, his laugh was frank, loud and contagious. Jan was hearty and friendly, vehement, passionate and outspoken, solid as a rock for people who relied on him, generous and thoughtful, warm, loving and caring to his family, to his fiancée whom he adored, and to his many, many friends. He was able to make friends instantly with people he met and was always social and jovial.”
In 2001, Jan received a grant from the Earhart Foundation to continue his studies at Fletcher, where he obtained his Master’s degree in 2002. He held another Master’s degree from The College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.
From 2004 to 2005, Jan worked for the German parliamentarian, Prof. Dr. Maria Böhmer, as a press officer and speech writer and at the German broadcasting company Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen. He also attended Mainz University, where he was an active contributor to clubs and events.
Jan is survived by his parents, Lilly and Dieter, his sister Carola, and his fiancée Caroline Demarque, a UN Volunteer in Haiti who survived the earthquake.