Harald Norbert Nestroy (born 1 February 1938 in Breslau) is a retired German diplomat who was ambassador to Costa Rica, Namibia, Malaysia and the Republic of the Congo. In 1987, he visited Bhutan for the first time, and is the chairman of the society Pro Bhutan. He is also a photographer.
Nestroy graduated from high school in Königstein im Taunus and studied law from 1958 to 1963 at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Universidad de Barcelona. In 1964 he joined the diplomatic service of the Federal Republic of Germany and was in the attaché training of the Foreign Office in Bonn until 1967. He was political advisor at the German embassy in New Delhi, India (1968–1971), cultural attaché at the German embassy in Bogotá, Colombia (1971–1973), advisor for Central America at the Foreign Office in Bonn (1974–1977), German Ambassador to Brazzaville, People's Republic of Congo, (1979–1982). From 1982 to 1985 he was Consul General in Atlanta, USA, and from 1985 to 1989 German Ambassador to San José, Costa Rica. After heading the France, Benelux, Austria, Switzerland department in the Political Department of the Foreign Office in Bonn from 1989 to 1994, he was German Ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1994–1998), and Ambassador to Windhoek, Namibia until his retirement in 2003.
Nestroy has been involved in the Kingdom of Bhutan since 1987. In 1992 he founded the non-profit association "Pro Bhutan" and initiated humanitarian projects in the field of general health and the education of disadvantaged children. With a special project, he promoted the preservation of the unique culture of the Kingdom of Bhutan from 2006 to 2010. Harald Nestroy has planned and carried out the following donation-financed projects in Bhutan since 1993:
Nistroy is a student of the well-known Himalayan photographer Jaroslav Poncar and has been involved in photography since 1990. He has published numerous photo series.
Nestroy has been married to Angelika, nee Heinz, since 1999. Groomsmen at the wedding in Bhutan were the then Prime Minister of Bhutan Sangay Ngedup and his wife Rinchhen. Nestroy is a member of the CV fraternity Rheno-Palatia.
Punakha is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag, one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. Punakha was the capital of Bhutan and the seat of government until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is about 72 km away from Thimphu, and it takes about 3 hours by car from the capital. Unlike Thimphu, it is quite warm in winter and hot in summer. It is located at an elevation of 1,200 metres above sea level, and rice is grown as the main crop along the river valleys of two main rivers of Bhutan, the Pho Chu and Mo Chu. Dzongkha is widely spoken in this district.