Ambassador Christoph Heusgen - Zeitenwende – A turning point or more of the same?

Faced with war in Ukraine, Germany’s first post-Merkel government has proclaimed a “Zeitenwende” – a turning point in history. In his address to the IIEA, Ambassador Heusgen takes stock of Germany’s role in the face of Europe’s gravest security crisis in decades. He discusses the challenges for Germany’s new foreign policy era on the domestic level, examine Berlin’s role in the European Union – especially against the backdrop of the presidential elections in France–, and assesses the prospects of a profound overhaul of German foreign and security policy moving forward. About the Speaker: Ambassador Christoph Heusgen has been Chairman of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) since 2022. He teaches Political Science at the University of Saint Gallen. Mr Heusgen was Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations between 2017 and 2021. Prior to this appointment and since 2005, Mr Heusgen was the Foreign Policy and Security Adviser to Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel. From 1999 to 2005, he served as Director of the Policy Unit for High Representative Javier Solana in the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. Between 1988 and 1999, Mr Heusgen served in various capacities at the Foreign Office in Bonn, including Deputy Director-General for European Affairs from 1997 to 1999.