{Character Interview} Dr. Henriette Behrens of THREE BROTHERS by Joerg H. Trauboth

We’re thrilled to be talking to Dr. Henriette Behrens, German Federal Chancellor of “Three Brothers” by Joerg H. Trauboth.  It is a pleasure to have her with us today at Pimp That Character!

“I work until deep in the night when most of the office lights are out and preferably with women. Too many of the men here are egocentric machos, except one. You unfortunately know who I mean.”

--Exclusive Interview with Dr. Henriette Behrens, THREE BROTHERS

1.      Thank you for your interview, Dr. Henriette Behrens.  How old are you and what do you do for a living?

Would you also ask a man how old he is, and that in your first question? Shame on you. You are also funny. My personal information as chancellor are only too well-known. In my position, there are very few details left unknown about you.

2.     

Can you tell us about one of your most distinguishable features?

I always say what I want and I keep my word. My aim is to be trustworthy, nationally as internationally. People can rely on me, even if we have to resolve an unpleasant subject.

3.      What would I love the most about you?

My authenticity. And perhaps also my perfume “Y”, which is very hard to find anymore.

4.      What would I hate the most about you?

I work until deep in the night when most of the office lights are out and preferably with women. Too many of the men here are egocentric machos, except one. You unfortunately know who I mean.

5.      Where do you go when you are angry?

I don’t like to be physically touched in a greeting situation, like a hug, for example. Sometimes it’s awful. There are all sorts of men who are open to giving public displays of affection. The confident, reserved type, and the others who act more like roosters. During my trips to Brussels, and elsewhere, I am subject to a barrage of “peck on the left, peck on the right.” I have developed my own sort of defense strategy of blocking it early. But it doesn’t always work. What a stress for a woman!

After from such a grueling trip, I go to him. We cook together, quote Marcus Aurelius, and forget the rest of the world and all its stress.

Having said that, I am not too happy about Mr. Trauboth including the scene following my approving the Operation Eagle mission at his house when I fell into his arms with my doubts and fear about these three brave men. It was as if he saved me from making a terrible mistake when I came to that conclusion myself.

6.      What is your greatest fear?

I run a complicated three-party coalition government and am surrounded by political opponents who are all just salivating for me to make a mistake. The goal of every opposition is to overthrow the leaders. I think, am quite good in the daily crisis management.  My fear is having to step down. I do not give up! My fear is that this was caused by my own inaccurate assessment. You need to have a good core team and a lot of luck to survive here on this ejection chair with a hair-trigger.

7.      Do you think the author portrayed you accurately?

Hmm, he wrote and I am a bit embarrassed: her black, shoulder-length, layered hairstyle was deemed the Henriette look. Handbags and shoes have taken on her name as their trademark. Her choice of clothing is an ongoing topic in the boulevard press. The Times ran a front-page story entitled “Germany’s Best Brand” about the overwhelming charm and brains of a one-of-a-kind phenomenon among European Heads of State.

I don’t want to comment on this, but I am also not unhappy with it. However, I would have liked to have read more about my political efforts to bring Germany and Europe forward and the two superpowers of the USA and Russia together. I find there is a little bit too much personal stuff in his thriller about me. For a retired Colonel and General Staff officer in NATO, I would have expected some more political details and less about my appearance.

8.      What is your idea of a perfect day?

Getting a good morning briefing, making various effective political decisions, not being tortured by my coalition partner, leave the office early enough to go grocery shopping before the stores close.

9.      What are three must haves when shopping at the grocery store?

Chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce, chocolate sprinkles, and whipped cream. I could eat it every day.

10.  Who is your best friend?

My personal assistant Susanne Ehrlich. She knows more about me then any author will ever know. Thank you for stopping by. Susanne will accompany you to out. But I forgot, you know that already…   

Joerg H. Trauboth (Wikipedia) was born just outside of Berlin in 1943 during an air-raid. He discovered his love for writing early in his career as an officer and was awarded top honors by the General Inspector of the German Bundeswehr. Along the way, he flew over two thousand flight hours as a Weapons Systems Officer and instructor in the Phantom RF4E (in which he survived two critical lightening strikes). After a training in George AFB (CA), Major Joerg H. Trauboth flew the  Phantom F4F  and finally – followed by another conversion training in Cottesmore (UK) –  the Tornado aircrafts. Trauboth became a General Staff Officer in the Military Academy of the German Armed Forces in Hamburg-Blankenese and enrolled as LtCol  in the NATO Defense College in Rome. He has served in the German national operational headquarters as well as in the NATO Headquarters in Brussels as the German representative in the areas of Crisis Management, Operations, and Intelligence.
At the age of fifty, he retired early from his post as a Colonel in the German Air Force to become a Special Risk Consultant at the Control Risk Group in London. He was trained and engaged in negotiating extortion and kidnapping situations in South America and Eastern Europe.
The former Colonel, eager to start making money on his own soon founded the Trauboth Risk Management company. He received a startup award and quickly made a reputation for himself internationally as an top-notch crisis manager in Europe. During his time as CEO, he conceptualized crisis prevention strategies for a number of European companies and employed a 24-hour task force to protect them from product tampering, product recalls, kidnappings, and image crises. He was also a co-founder and the first president of the European Crisis Management Academy in Vienna and wrote a standard reference book on the subject of crisis management for companies at risk of threat.
Today Joerg H. Trauboth is an author, filmmaker with more than 75.000 youtube clicks, and an enthusiastic Grumman Tiger pilot. (See this latest night flight-video here. And if you want to know who his favorite Co-Pilot is, have a look here.)  The crisis manager and active pilot has served as the European Director and President of the US – based international American Yankee Pilots Organization.
His advice on crisis management is continually sought after and he is present as expert in radio and television interviews regarding his opinion on  international crisis situations.
Joerg H. Trauboth has been  53 years married with Martina. They have two sons, three grandchildren, and both live near Bonn, Germany. In addition, Trauboth voluntarily contributes his expertise to the Crisis Invention Team of the German Federal Foreign Office in Bonn and reads from his fiction and non fiction books on readers’ tours followed by discussions with his readers about the dramatically changing world.
Joerg’s latest book is the thriller, Three Brothers.

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About the Book:

Title: THREE BROTHERS
Author: Joerg H. Trauboth
Publisher: Ratio Books
Pages: 581
Genre: Thriller

BOOK BLURB:

Marc Anderson and his two commando brothers Thomas and Tim are highly respected elite soldiers in the secretive German Commando Special Forces, the KSK. Together with the American Navy Seals, they successfully rescue the crew of a downed American F-15 tactical fighter jet in the Hindu Kusch Mountains under a barrage of heavy fire from the Taliban. However, their next mission – in Northern Iraq – to save two German hostages taken captive by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ends in disaster for the three brothers in arms. The perfectly laid-out strategy of Operation Eagle is betrayed, causes Marc, Thomas, and Tim to narrowly escape death. The German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) starts the hunt for the informant.
The devoted commando brothers decide to leave the KSK and start a new career together as security advisors with a family-owned company based in Cologne. But the terrorist activities of ISIS continue to determine their fate. The brothers are faced with one of their greatest challenges when ISIS kidnaps company heir Johannes Ericson and his partner Karina Marie. Moreover, the terrorists demand a ransom and extort the German government to immediately suspend its military intervention in the fight against ISIS. It is a race against time to save the couple from assassination.
Joerg H. Trauboth has written more than just an exhilarating novel. Three Brothers unites the current omnipresent threat of terrorism with the author’s first-hand experience as a crisis manager and a military and terrorism expert. The result is an unrivaled political thriller. In this gripping novel, Trauboth foretells possible scenarios for our society in light of the rise of radical Islamic terrorism. Read the full chapter 1 here …
Three Brothers is the English translation of the successful German thriller Drei Brüder (ratio-books), highly appreciated by thousands of readers, as well as military organizations and government officials alike. Jörg H. Trauboth’s storytelling skills can be compared to those of Tom Clancy and similar authors as James Patterson. The German version of the novel will also soon be available as an audio book.
Drei Brüder has been translated into English by (US native) Leanne Cvetan.

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