Niels Annen to join GMF as Senior Fellow

Pressemitteilung des German Marshall Fund (GMF)

Member of German Bundestag will focus on Russia, Afghanistan, and European foreign policy

WASHINGTON/BERLIN (Oct 27, 2009) – Niels Annen, an outgoing member of the German Bundestag, will join the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) as a Senior Fellow on March 1, 2010, for a six-month term.
Annen, who will focus on European foreign policy, especially regarding Russia and Afghanistan, will be based in Washington, DC, and will boost GMF’s capacity in the study, writing, and convening on these two important countries in the transatlantic sphere.
“Niels will bring a policymaker’s perspective to GMF’s work on the two countries of most concern to the transatlantic allies,” said GMF President Craig Kennedy. “His knowledge of the German debate will be a tremendous asset as we help carve the path to cooperation between North America and Europe.”
An influential figure in the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) for the past decade, Annen has served in the German Parliament representing an electoral district in Hamburg, Germany’s second largest city, as well as in party leadership on the SPD Executive Board.
Annen has been a foreign policy leader in the SPD and a permanent member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Within the committee he has served on the Subcommittee for Arms Control and Non Proliferation as well as the Subcommittee for the United Nations.
His prior involvement with GMF has included a well-received Brussels Forum paper on Russia, "Embracing a Strong Russia."
His work has focused on Latin America as well as the Middle East and Central Asia. He regularly travels to Lebanon, Afghanistan, and other regions where Germany has invested military, financial, and human resources. Annen is an advocate of continued German commitment in Afghanistan. He supports multilateral engagement as a tool for resolving conflict and protecting fundamental human rights.
Prior to being elected to the German Bundestag, he served as the Chairman of the SPD youth organization (Young Social Democrats). He studied History, Geography and Latin- American Studies at the Universität Hamburg in Germany and Universidad of Complutense Madrid in Spain. Besides his native German, he speaks English and Spanish fluently.
The German Marshall Fund of the United States is a nonpartisan American public policy and grantmaking institution dedicated to promoting greater cooperation and understanding between
North America and Europe. Founded in 1972 through a gift from Germany as a permanent memorial to the Marshall Plan assistance, GMF maintains a strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to its headquarters in Washington, DC, GMF has seven offices in Europe: Berlin, Bratislava, Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, Ankara, and Bucharest.