Liesl Obrecht is a fictional character on the long-running ABC daytime soap opera, General Hospital, played by Kathleen Gati.

The character was created by head writer Ron Carlivati and introduced by executive producer Frank Valentini in the summer of 2012 in what was initially supposed to be a bit role.

[2] When she joined the storyline, Gati's Dr. Obrecht was the director of the Swiss clinic where the presumed dead Dr. Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough) was being imprisoned by the infamous Cesar Faison (Anders Hove).

Impressed by Gati's portrayal of the character, the producers expanded the role and in early 2013 Obrecht was revealed to be the mother of the scheming Dr. Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud) fathered by the legendary Faison himself.

In 2014, in addition to becoming chief of staff at General Hospital, Obrecht is revealed to be the biological mother of Detective Nathan West (Ryan Paevey), raised by her estranged sister, Madeline Reeves (Donna Mills).

"[10] Obrecht takes steps to bond with her daughter after finding out about her engagement to Nikolas Cassadine (Tyler Christopher) and Gati said "She's looked in the mirror and seen the mistakes that she's made."

Ron Carlivati accredited Anna Cascio, one of the members of the writing team for suggesting that Obrecht sing to her children and the song choice.

Because the character of Nathan was just becoming familiar to viewers, the performance creates an immediate "relationship between the brother and sister" and also displays how uncomfortable they are with Obrecht showing "real emotion."

"[2] Kathleen Gati revealed that she first learned of the plans of Obrecht's relationship with the infamous Cesar Faison (Anders Hove) in January 2013 and she was immediately "ecstatic.

"[8] Ron Carlivati revealed that Obrecht's expansion started out as her being a "talk-to" for Faison when he is masquerading as Duke Lavery (Ian Buchanan) between October and December 2013.

[2] In March 2013 after Obrecht's connection to Britt was revealed and fans were left to speculate about her paternity, Regan Cellura said that Obrect's "unwavering loyalty" Faison was a bit "telling".

They had a relationship and even created a child together and as far as Obrecht is concerned, Faison was "tainted" by Anna making Liesl look like "chopped liver."

The scribe revealed that he had always imagined the $88 million that Jerry Jacks (Sebastian Roché) had extorted from Port Charles the town prior to his disappearance in 2012 had been floating around; Obrecht manages to get her hands on some of that money and uses it to invest in General Hospital.

Carlivati likened Obrecht becoming chief of staff to Heather Locklear as Amanda Woodward on Melrose Place buying the complex.

"[2] Because Obrecht is such a "polarizing force" at the hospital, Carlivati thought it would be appropriate to have her hijack the opening number at the annual Nurses Ball, a celebrated event in the show's history.

After the two leave, Obrecht is seen speaking with a man who looks identical to Anna's great love, the late Duke Lavery (Ian Buchanan).

Faison returns to Switzerland to reprimand Obrecht when Robin manages to escape briefly and contact her husband, Patrick Drake (Jason Thompson).

In March 2013, Obrecht comes to Port Charles where she reunites with her daughter, Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud) who has been dumped by Patrick in favor of Sabrina Santiago (Teresa Castillo).

Obrecht is finally sent to jail where she tries to blackmail Britt into getting her released by threatening to reveal that Ben is the biological child of Lulu (Emme Rylan) and Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna) conceived from their stolen embryo.

With the help for her former flame, Victor Cassadine (Thaao Penghlis), Obrecht secures her freedom and is appointed chief of staff at General Hospital after Sonny was released.

During Nikolas and Britt's engagement party, it is revealed that Ben is Dante and Lulu's and Obrecht kidnaps him and forces Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) to hide them.

Obrecht shoots Elizabeth as Ben is rescued and while in lock-up, Obrehct is reunited with her estranged sister, Madeline Reeves (Donna Mills).

Gati played Dr. Obrecht as the evilest woman on the planet, then showed her emotional side when Faison (Anders Hove) asked her to wear the “Anna” mask in order to have sex with him, plus did her rendition in blonde wig of Peggy Lee’s “Is That All There Is?”, and then sang “Au Tannenbaum” from jail on the Christmas episode.

"[19] In October 2013, ABC Soaps In Depth ranked the character at #5 in the "5 Things We're Loving" section and said Gati's "Obrecht makes being bad look oh so good!

The magazine raved that "Establishing the perverse cronyism of Faison, Helena, Jerry and Dr. Obrecht was a stroke of creative genius, but each character also shined individually."

The magazine praised the character saying, "Obrecht continued her scene-stealing rise to villainous power by maneuvering daughter Britt like a chess piece, tossing off cruel one-liners with expert precision and rocking the heck out of that Anna [Devane] mask.

While Hove is definitely known for his legendary style, Sloane raved that Gati "has quickly become one of the trustiest weapons in GH's arsenal, via her full-bodied embrace of Obrecht's matter-of-fact cruelty.

"[10] On-Air On-Soaps praised the actress for her portrayal of Obrecht during scenes in which the character schemed to take out her rival Anna Devane, played by Finola Hughes.

"[9] Michael Fairman praised Gati and head writer, Ron Carlivati for their creation of "one [of] the most fascinating characters in Port Charles.

"[33] Luke Kerr of Daytime Confidential likened the character of Liesl Obrecht to Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) on Game of Thrones.