The German Council on Foreign Relations (, DGAP) is a prominent Germany

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

research institute. It is an independent, private,

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

and

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

organisation, and actively takes part in policy formation and promoting the understanding of German foreign policy and

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

. It was established in 1955 in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

as a

registered association A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

, and relocated to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in 1999.

History

The model for the DGAP's foundation in 1955 was in many respects the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

in New York and the

Chatham House The Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House, is a British think tank based in London, England. Its stated mission is "to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world". It ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The first president of the newly founded DGAP was the CDU politician, diplomat and entrepreneur Günther Henle. Prominent former and current members include former German foreign minister

Hans-Dietrich Genscher Hans-Dietrich Genscher (21 March 1927 – 31 March 2016) was a German statesman and a member of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), who served as Federal Minister of the Interior from 1969 to 1974, and as Federal Minister for Foreign Affa ...

, former German President

Richard von Weizsäcker Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker (; 15 April 1920 – 31 January 2015) was a German politician ( CDU), who served as President of Germany from 1984 to 1994. Born into the aristocratic Weizsäcker family, who were part of the German nobili ...

, as well as

Eberhard Diepgen Eberhard Diepgen (born 13 November 1941) is a German lawyer and politician who served as Mayor of West Berlin from 1984 to 1989 and again as Mayor of (united) Berlin, from 1991 until 2001, as member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). E ...

Klaus von Dohnanyi Klaus Karl Anton von Dohnanyi (; born 23 June 1928) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as mayor of Hamburg between 1981 and 1988. As of , he is the oldest living former head of a german state government. Ear ...

Michael Glos Michael Glos (born 14 December 1944) is a German politician of the Christian Social Union (CSU) who served as Minister for Economics and Technology in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 22 November 2005 until 10 February 2009. Ea ...

, Friedbert Pflüger,

Volker Rühe Volker Rühe (born 25 September 1942) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as German Defence minister from 1 April 1992, succeeding Gerhard Stoltenberg during the first government of a reunified Germany in ...

Rudolf Scharping Rudolf Albert Scharping (born 2 December 1947) is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He first rose to prominence as Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate (1991–1994). He was his party's federal chairman ...

, Dieter Schulte,

Manfred Stolpe Manfred Stolpe (16 May 1936 – 29 December 2019) was a German Canon law, canonist, Theology, theologian and politician who served as Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs (Germany), Federal Minister of Transport, Building an ...

Rita Süssmuth Rita Süssmuth ( ''née'' Kickuth; ; born 17 February 1937) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She served as the tenth president of the Bundestag. From 1985 to 1988, she served as Federal Minister for Youth, Famil ...

Günter Verheugen Günter Verheugen (; born 28 April 1944) is a German politician who served as European Commissioner for Enlargement from 1999 to 2004, and then as European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry from 2004 to 2010. He was also one of five vic ...

Antje Vollmer Antje Vollmer (; 31 May 194315 March 2023) was a German Protestant theologian, academic teacher and politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens. She became a member of the Bundestag in 1983 when the Greens first entered the West German parliament, ...

, and

Theodor Waigel Theodor Waigel (born 22 April 1939) is a German politician of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU). He represented Neu-Ulm in the Bundestag from 1976 to 2002. Waigel is a lawyer, and earned a doctorate in 1967. He was a member of the Bun ...

. In 2019,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

announced that it had detected

cyberattack A cyberattack (or cyber attack) occurs when there is an unauthorized action against computer infrastructure that compromises the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of its content. The rising dependence on increasingly complex and inte ...

s, which occurred between September and December 2018, targeting employees of the DGAP; they are believed to have originated from a group called Strontium.

Operations

Internationally known as the "German Council on Foreign Relations", the DGAP sees itself as a practical

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

offering demand-driven policy advice on a scientific basis. It works to actively influence the foreign policy opinion-forming at all levels. Its work is aimed at decision-makers in German politics, business, public administration, in NGOs, in the military and to the general public. DGAP publishes the bimonthly journal . Also, it is among other organisers of the . The Council provides: * A platform for discussions at conferences and in study group meetings as well as at public events. * Policy oriented analyses from research institute fellows. * Authoritative publications on contemporary topics by its journal , the as well as in the publications from the research institute. * Expert and extensive documentation by its library and documentation section. High-level guest speakers have in recent years included

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

(2006),

Christine Lagarde Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde (; , ; born 1 January 1956) is a French politician and lawyer who has been the President of the European Central Bank since 2019. She previously served as the 11th Managing Director of the International Monetar ...

(2012),

Ali Akbar Salehi Ali Akbar Salehi (, ; born 24 March 1949) is an Iranian academic, diplomat and former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, who served in this position from 2009 to 2010 and also from 2013 to 2021. He served for the first time as head ...

(2013),

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

(2014),

Mohammad Javad Zarif Mohammad Javad Zarif (; born 8 January 1960) is an Iranian career diplomat and academic. He served as the vice president for strategic affairs from August 2024 to March 2025.Paolo Gentiloni Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who was European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission from 1 December 2019 to 30 November 2024. He had previously served as prime minister of Italy ...

(2015),

Volodymyr Groysman Volodymyr Borysovych Groysman (; born 20 January 1978) is a Ukrainian statesman, politician, and businessman. He served as the 16th Prime Minister of Ukraine from 14 April 2016, to 29 August 2019. From 2006 to 2014, he was the mayor of Vinny ...

(2018),

Nikos Kotzias Nikolaos Kotzias, Order of Merit (Portugal), GCM (; born 21 December 1950) is a Greeks, Greek politician and diplomat who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Greece), Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2015 to 2018. He was Foreign Minister fr ...

(2018) and

Nirmala Sitharaman Nirmala Sitharaman (born 18 August 1959) is an Indian economist, politician and a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) serving as the Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs of the Government of India since 2019. ...

(2019). The DGAP is a member of the

European Movement Germany European Movement Germany (EM Germany) is a non-partisan network of interest groups in the field of EU politics in Germany. It cooperates closely with all EU stakeholders on a national and European level, most particularly with the German Feder ...

. DGAP is financed through the contributions of its members, acquired project funds and contributions from sponsors and patrons, including among others, the

Federal Foreign Office The Federal Foreign Office (, ; abbreviated AA) is the Foreign minister, foreign ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, a federal agency (Germany), federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign policy and its relationship with ...

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...

Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...

, the Robert Bosch Foundation, and the

Open Society Foundations Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...

Building

In Bonn, the DGAP was seated in the villa at Joachimstraße 7 between 1956 and 1959 and then in the Villa Schaumburg-Lippe-Straße 6 between 1965 and 1966. In 1965 it acquired the former House of Craftsmen at Adenauerallee 131a in Bonn, including the Villa Adenauerallee 131, which in later years served as a logo of DGAP, for the first time its own building. It served as headquarters of the DGAP from April 1966 to 1999. Since 1999, the DGAP has used at its seat the building designed by

Werner March Werner Julius March (17 January 1894 – 11 January 1976) was a German architect, son of Otto March (1845–1913), and brother of Walter March, both also well-known German architects. Werner March designed Germany's 1936 Olympic sta ...

, that was erected in 1938 to house the Yugoslav embassy in Berlin, and went through various other uses from 1941 to 1995 when it was sold to DGAP by the Land of Berlin. It is located in the embassy district of

Berlin-Tiergarten Tiergarten (, literally ''Animal Garden'', historically meaning ''deer park'' or hunting ''game park'') is a locality within the borough of Mitte, in central Berlin (Germany). Notable for the great and homonymous urban park, before German reunifi ...

Leadership

Presidents

* 1955-1973 –

Günter Henle Günter Henle, also known as Günther Henle (3 February 1899 – 13 April 1979) was a German politician, pianist, and Music publishing, music publisher. He was a member of the Christian Democratic Union (Germany), Christian Democratic Union ...

* 1973-1981 – Kurt Birrenbach * 1981-1987 - * 1987-1993 – * 1993-1999 – * 1999-2001 – Ulrich Cartellieri * 2001-2003 –

* 2003-2005 –

Alfred Freiherr von Oppenheim Alfred Paul Ernst Freiherr von Oppenheim (May 5, 1934 – January 5, 2005), known in America as Alfred Oppenheim, was a German billionaire and banker. Born in Cologne, Germany, Oppenheim was a descendant of Salomon Oppenheim, Jr., who founded the ...

* 2005-2019 – Arend Oetker * 2019–present –

Tom Enders Thomas Enders (born December 21, 1958) is a German business executive who served as the chief executive of Airbus (formerly EADS, Airbus Group) from 2012 until 2019. Since 2019, Thomas has been the president of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für ausw ...

Directors

* 1955-1958 -

Arnold Bergstraesser Arnold Bergstraesser (14 July 1896, Darmstadt – 24 February 1964, Freiburg im Breisgau) was a German political scientist. Along with Wolfgang Abendroth, Karl Dietrich Bracher, Theodor Eschenburg, and Eric Voegelin, he was one of the foun ...

* 1958-1961 - Ulrich Gembardt * 1961-1964 - * 1965-1966 - Wilhelm Cornides * 1967-1970 - Wolfgang Wagner * 1970-1972 -

Karl Carstens Karl Carstens (; 14 December 1914 – 30 May 1992) was a German politician. He served as the president of West Germany from 1979 to 1984. Early life and education Carstens was born in the City of Bremen, the son of a commercial school teacher, ...

* 1973-2003 - * 2003-2016 - * 2017-2021 - * 2021-2022 -

Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook (born 1976) is a German-American political scientist. She was the director and CEO of the German Council on Foreign Relations from June 2021 to February 2022. Since August 2022 she has served as an Executive Vice Preside ...

* 2022-2024 -

Guntram Wolff Guntram Wolff is a European public policy scholar. As of September 2024, he is professor of economics at Université Libre de Bruxelles (Solvay Brussels SchoolECARES, senior fellow at Bruegel, and senior fellow at the Kiel Institute for the World ...

* 2024-present -

References

External links

Homepage

Homepage "Internationale Politik"
{{DEFAULTSORT:German Council on Foreign Relations International relations Think tanks based in Germany