FORMER Italian ambassador to Namibia Massimo Baistrocchi (69), who died in Windhoek last Sunday, was hailed as someone who had ‘mastered the art of living’.
At a function to pay tribute to his life on Friday, former German ambassador to Namibia and a close friend of the diplomat, Harald Nestroy, said Baistrocchi ‘infected us with his humour, his wit and his intellect’.Nestroy said Baistrocchi ‘attracted people of all walks of life and was the centre of attraction’. According to him, ‘Massimo’s departure with no return is a cruel loss. Massimo lived every minute of his life to the full.’Nangolo Mbumba, the Minister of Safety and Security, and also a close friend of Baistrocchi, described the late ambassador as ‘a Namibian by love and by choice’.According to Mbumba, Baistrocchi ‘loved other human beings dearly’ and ‘served his country with honour, distinction and dedication’.Political analyst André du Pisani said unlike other ‘cocktail diplomats’, Baistrocchi was ‘refreshingly candid, witty and direct in his approach’.The former ambassador’s widow, Adriana, said she felt lost without him. She thanked their Namibian friends for their support last week. ‘Since Sunday, there were no five minutes that I was alone at home. I feel more at home here than in my own country.’Messages of condolences were also read on behalf of President Hifikepunye Pohamba and Theo-Ben Gurirab, the Speaker of the National Assembly.Baistrocchi served as ambassador in Namibia from 2001 to 2004. He will be buried in Italy.
