diff --git a/deltachat-ffi/deltachat.h b/deltachat-ffi/deltachat.h
index 58efa0557..1eb500e33 100644
--- a/deltachat-ffi/deltachat.h
+++ b/deltachat-ffi/deltachat.h
@@ -2414,6 +2414,22 @@ dc_array_t* dc_get_locations                (dc_context_t* context, uint32_t cha
 void        dc_delete_all_locations         (dc_context_t* context);
 
 
+/**
+ * Get last error string.
+ *
+ * This is the same error string as logged via #DC_EVENT_ERROR,
+ * however, using this function avoids race conditions
+ * if the failing function is called in another thread than dc_get_next_event().
+ *
+ * @memberof dc_context_t
+ * @param context The context object.
+ * @return Last error or an empty string if there is no last error.
+ *     NULL is never returned.
+ *     The returned value must be released using dc_str_unref() after usage.
+ */
+char* dc_get_last_error (dc_context_t* context);
+
+
 /**
  * Release a string returned by another deltachat-core function.
  * - Strings returned by any deltachat-core-function
diff --git a/deltachat-ffi/src/lib.rs b/deltachat-ffi/src/lib.rs
index f1542786b..3037882b7 100644
--- a/deltachat-ffi/src/lib.rs
+++ b/deltachat-ffi/src/lib.rs
@@ -2206,6 +2206,16 @@ pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_delete_all_locations(context: *mut dc_context_t) {
     });
 }
 
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_get_last_error(context: *mut dc_context_t) -> *mut libc::c_char {
+    if context.is_null() {
+        eprintln!("ignoring careless call to dc_get_last_error()");
+        return "".strdup();
+    }
+    let ctx = &*context;
+    block_on(ctx.get_last_error()).strdup()
+}
+
 // dc_array_t
 
 pub type dc_array_t = dc_array::dc_array_t;
diff --git a/src/context.rs b/src/context.rs
index a9b542886..ce3ddec38 100644
--- a/src/context.rs
+++ b/src/context.rs
@@ -76,6 +76,11 @@ pub struct InnerContext {
     pub(crate) id: u32,
 
     creation_time: SystemTime,
+
+    /// The text of the last error logged and emitted as an event.
+    /// If the ui wants to display an error after a failure,
+    /// `last_error` should be used to avoid races with the event thread.
+    pub(crate) last_error: RwLock<String>,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug)]
@@ -147,6 +152,7 @@ impl Context {
             quota: RwLock::new(None),
             creation_time: std::time::SystemTime::now(),
             last_full_folder_scan: Mutex::new(None),
+            last_error: RwLock::new("".to_string()),
         };
 
         let ctx = Context {
diff --git a/src/log.rs b/src/log.rs
index 0df7792f6..f9acc3ecc 100644
--- a/src/log.rs
+++ b/src/log.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 //! # Logging.
 
 use crate::context::Context;
+use async_std::task::block_on;
 
 #[macro_export]
 macro_rules! info {
@@ -39,10 +40,28 @@ macro_rules! error {
     };
     ($ctx:expr, $msg:expr, $($args:expr),* $(,)?) => {{
         let formatted = format!($msg, $($args),*);
+        $ctx.set_last_error(&formatted);
         $ctx.emit_event($crate::EventType::Error(formatted));
     }};
 }
 
+impl Context {
+    /// Set last error string.
+    /// Implemented as blocking as used from macros in different, not always async blocks.
+    pub fn set_last_error(&self, error: &str) {
+        block_on(async move {
+            let mut last_error = self.last_error.write().await;
+            *last_error = error.to_string();
+        });
+    }
+
+    /// Get last error string.
+    pub async fn get_last_error(&self) -> String {
+        let last_error = &*self.last_error.read().await;
+        last_error.clone()
+    }
+}
+
 pub trait LogExt<T, E>
 where
     Self: std::marker::Sized,
@@ -134,3 +153,31 @@ impl<T, E: std::fmt::Display> LogExt<T, E> for Result<T, E> {
         self
     }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use crate::test_utils::TestContext;
+    use anyhow::Result;
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_get_last_error() -> Result<()> {
+        let t = TestContext::new().await;
+
+        assert_eq!(t.get_last_error().await, "");
+
+        error!(t, "foo-error");
+        assert_eq!(t.get_last_error().await, "foo-error");
+
+        warn!(t, "foo-warning");
+        assert_eq!(t.get_last_error().await, "foo-error");
+
+        info!(t, "foo-info");
+        assert_eq!(t.get_last_error().await, "foo-error");
+
+        error!(t, "bar-error");
+        error!(t, "baz-error");
+        assert_eq!(t.get_last_error().await, "baz-error");
+
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}