The German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) from its beginnings

DGAP’s history from 1945 to today

July 6, 1945

The journal Europa-Archiv is founded. The occupying powers approve the license request made by Wilhelm Cornides, later an editor in Frankfurt for many years, and occupied Germany's first foreign policy journal is created (editor-in-chief from 1949: Herman Volle). The first issue, dated July 1946, is released in August with a print run of 10,000.

Early 1947

A film-segment archive, documentation and library are built-up. These form the core of DGAP's Documentation Centre. The first documentation volumes on international politics and economics in Germany are published.

1947 to 1948

Initial contacts are made with Centre d’Etudes de Politique Etrangère (Paris) and the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House, London).

1952

The Institute for European Politics and Economics is founded in Frankfurt. Theodor Steltzer, former member of the Kreisau Circle and prime minister of Schleswig-Holstein, is named director. Initial funding provided by the Federal German government, private sponsorship and American institutions closely connected to Europa-Archiv. The German Council on European Politics and Economics is the supporting organisation.

August to October 1952

Cornides and Steltzer travel to the USA to meet with American institutions, particularly the Council on Foreign Relations, New York.

1953

Cornides and Steltzer discuss establishing a German foreign policy institute with Günter Henle (managing partner of Klöckner & Co. and MP of the Christian Democratic Party (CDU) 1949-1953), Hermann J. Abs (speaker of Deutsche Bank’s board of directors), Wilhelm Beutler (director general of the Federation of German Industries – BDI) and Erwin Lemmé (BDI), State Secretary Walter Hallstein, Wilhelm Grewe (director of the Political Department of the Federal Foreign Office) Otto Wolff von Amerongen, Erich Ollenhauer (Social-Democratic Party – SPD), Gerhart Lütkens (SPD), President Theodor Heuss (Free Democratic Party – FDP). Cornides and Steltzer visit Chatham House and hold meetings in London with Arnold Toynbee (Chatham House) also attended by representatives of German business, Heinrich von Brentano (CDU, Foreign Minister 1955-1963).

March 12, 1955

A call to found DGAP is published. Signees are: Hermann J. Abs, Fritz Berg (BDI President), Heinrich von Brentano, Thomas Dehler (leader of the FDP from 1954 to 1957), Ernst Friedlaender (editor-in-chief of DIE ZEIT), Hans Goudefroy (chair of Allianz AG from 1948 to 1961), Wilhelm Grewe, Walter Hallstein, Günter Henle, Andreas Hermes (President of the German Farmer’s Association, co-founder of the CDU), Erich Kaufmann, Ernst Lemmer (co-founder of the CDU in East Germany, West Berlin MP and federal MP), Hans-Karl von Mangoldt-Reiboldt (president of the Managing Board of the European Payments Union), Hans J. von Merkatz (leader of the German Party in parliament in 1953-1955), Richard Merton (head of the supervisory board of Metallgesellschaft AG), Erich Ollenhauer (leader of the SPD in 1952-1963), August Oswalt (co-proprietor of the Frankfurt banking house Georg Hauck & Sohn), Robert Pferdmenges (president of the German Banks Assiociation), Theodor Steltzer, Hermann Weinkauff (president of the Federal Court of Justice), Heinrich Weitz (president of German Red Cross). On the same day invitations are sent to possible financial supporters to found a patrons’ association.

March 29, 1955

The DGAP is founded at the University of Bonn. Günter Henle, Chancelor Konrad Adenauer and Hans Rothfels address the assembly.

Günter Henle is voted president, with vice presidents Fritz Berg, Gerhart Lütkens (1955), Fritz Erler (MP for the SPD from 1956). Together with the DGAP, its patrons’ association with 53 German commercial and industrial companies is also established.

July 8, 1955

The Academic Directorate is set up. Among the 22 members are: Arnold Bergstraesser, Herbert von Borch, Marion Gräfin Dönhoff, Theodor Eschenburg, Wilhelm Grewe, Werner Markert, Rudolf Meimberg, Eberhard Menzel, Hans Rothfels, Ulrich Scheuner, Karl Schiller, Carlo Schmid, Günther Schmölders, Wilhelm Treue.A. Bergstraesser is chair and is voted in as the research institute’s first director.

October 1, 1955

The office in Bonn is set up under the supervision of Dietrich Mende.

May 1958

The first volume of the yearbook Die Internationale Politik, covering 1955, is published.

October 1, 1960

The research institute, journal and library move from Frankfurt to Bonn.

November 1961

The international project “Strategy for Europe” between the Institute for Strategic Studies (London), Centre d’Etudes de Politique Etrangère (Paris) and DGAP begins, leading to numerous publications.

1962

The programme group Arms Control and International Security is established and the International Security study group (now called Strategic Questions) is appointed. The study group is chaired by

Fritz Erler (subsequent chairs: Helmut Schmidt, Karl Mommer, Alfons Pawelczyk, Egon Bahr, Karsten Voigt, Hans-Ulrich Klose, all SPD). The group meets on January 12, 1962 for the first time and is “certainly the first larger, multi-party and multidisciplinary foreign-policy forum of international status” in the Federal Republic. (Hans-Adolf Jacobsen, quoted in: Eisermann, S. 138).

February 24, 1962

Robert F. Kennedy, attorney-general of the USA, holds a talk entitled “The New Frontier and the New Europe“; over 600 members, guests, and press representatives are in attendance.

July 1965

The study group German Relations to the Soviet Union and Other Eastern Countries is established (later renamed East-West Relations and currently European Policy). Kurt Birrenbach is the original chair (later chairs include Richard Freiherr von Weizsäcker, Alois Mertes, Hans Stercken, Friedbert Pflüger, all CDU). The group meets for the first time on December 16, 1965.

1965 to 1969

The first larger “Colloquia on Questions of International Security” with experts from politics, administration, academia and journalism are held. “European American Conferences” take place in Haus Leerbach, Bergneustadt and in Haus Rissen, Hamburg.

July 15, 1966

At only 46 years of age Wilhelm Cornides dies of illness. He is replaced as executive vice president and director of the research institute by the journalist Wolfgang Wagner.

January 1, 1967

Wolfgang Wagner becomes editor of Europa-Archiv.

May 1967

The institute cooperates in setting up the regular East-West Conference of directors of foreign policy institutes in Marienbad (former Czechoslovakia).

1967 to 1970

The East-West Relations study group discusses a confidential study on problems associated with recognising the GDR done by one of their work groups. The plans to release the study are nullified by the formation of the SPD/FDP government in 1969.

1968

The work group Alternatives for Europe starts (as a reaction to French model conceptions). Publications continue in the Europa-Archiv.

1968 to 1970

The first common project with the Chatham House leads to the publication of Structural Changes in the Foreign Policy of Great Britain and the Federal Republic of Germany.

1969 to 1972

The Work group Foreign Policy Perspectives of the West German State sets to task and three anthologies are published.

1971 to 1972

At the government’s suggestion a work group is started to address questions of future German membership in the United Nations; the group’s work leads to a book on the topic.

May 1971

The first cooperative colloquium with the Polish Institute for International Affairs(PISM, Warsaw) is held.

October 1971

Regular conferences take place with the Institute of World Economy & International Relations (IMEMO) of the USSR’s Academy of Sciences in Bonn. An important topic of the talks is the project of a European conference for security and cooperation.

 

June 1, 1973

Professor Karl Kaiser becomes the research institute's new director.

1976

The German-Polish Forum is created at the government’s behest. The forum is supported by the institute including the steering committee led by Karl Kaiser (later Johannes Bauch).

1977

The first German-Polish Forum takes place in Bonn.

May 20, 1980

For the 25th anniversary of the German Council on Foreign Relations, Germany's Foreign Minister, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, gives a speech on German foreign policy for the 1980s.

1981

The position paper The West’s Security: New Dimensions and Challenges is published. The paper, with new ideas on of “out-of-area” deployment and “coalition of the willing”, is a joint effort with the Council on Foreign Relations, the Institut Français des Relations Internationales and Royal Institute of International Affairs.

1982

The World Economic Cooperation study group is established (now the Globalisation and World Economy programme) with Martin Grüner as chairman. Leadership is later taken over by Heinrich Kolb (also FDP) and Siegmar Mosdorf, Ditmar Staffelt (both SPD).

October 1, 1986

After 40 years, Jochen Thies replaces Hermann Volle as editor-in-chief of Europa-Archiv.

February 9, 1988

S. M. Emir Hussein, King of Jordan, gives a talk on peace efforts in the Middle East.

June 7, 1988

The Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, speaks on economic policy at a DGAP event.

June 30, 1988

At a members’ meeting Federal Minister Wolfgang Schäuble gives a speech on the German question in Europe.

January 1, 1989

The programme France / Franco-German Relations is established, initially chaired by Karl Kaiser and later by Karl Lamers, Andreas Schockenhoff (both CDU).

June 12, 1990

Nelson Mandela speaks about South Africa’s future.

September 11, 1991

In a ceremony attended by former chancellor Helmut Schmidt and Otto Wolff von Amerongen, the long-time supporter of DGAP, the research institute's directorship is renamed the "Otto Wolff-Director".

June 1993

Angelika Volle becomes editor-in-chief of Europa-Archiv.

April 19, 1994

Benazir Bhutto, the prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, gives a lecture on the policies of her country in South Asia.

January 1, 1995

Europa-Archiv is renamed Internationale Politik and Werner Weidenfeld is named editor.

March 13, 1995

The DGAP celebrates its 40th year. Federal President Roman Herzog gives his first foreign-policy speech to the guests assembled in Bonn's historic Waterworks building.

June 30, 1995

Property purchase from the Berlin Senate is finalised. DGAP acquires the building that once housed the Royal Embassy of Yugoslavia, in Rauchstraße 17/18 in Berlin-Tiergarten.

September 1, 1995

Research and lectures begin in Berlin with a staff of five.

March 1996

The Poland / German-Polish Relations programme is set up, with Hans-Dietrich Genscher as chairman.

Autumn 1996

The project Forum European Foreign Policy, sponsored by the Robert Bosch Stiftung begins. It includes a summer school, New Faces Conferences and expert symposia for young researchers in Eastern and Western Europe (today the International Forum on Strategic Thinking).

October 1, 1996

The 50th anniversary of the journal Europa-Archiv/INTERNATIONALE POLITIK is celebrated at Bonn’s Waterworks. The parliament’s president, Rita Süssmuth as well as Otto Wolff von Amerongen and Werner Lamby, president of DGAP, speak at the event.

January 11, 1999

DGAP moves from Bonn to Berlin.

January 1999

Central and Eastern Europe programme is born (now called Central Europe). The programme is supported by the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach Foundation and is the successor of the Poland/German-Polish Relations programme.

March 1999

A two-year research project on asylum and migration policy in the European Union starts, sponsored by the Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG – German Research Foundation).

March 18, 1999

The newly constituted project group Non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Sensitive Technologies meets for the first time. Jörg van Essen (FDP) heads the group, academic direction by Professor Erwin Häckel.

 

March 22-23, 1999

A bilateral symposium is held with the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs in Peking on globalisation and China’s growing weight in the world.

August 1, 1999

The Berliner Forum Future (Berliner Forum Zukunft – BFZ) sets to work. The project aims for close cooperation between economic and political interests in addressing topics within the strategically important areas of space policies, international aerospace industry and technologies.

September 2, 1999

A house-warming event is held in the DGAP’s restored building in Rauchstraße; Chancellor Gerhard Schröder speaks at the event.

September 2, 1999

DGAP, the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP – German Institute for International and Security Affairs) and the Robert Bosch Stiftung issue a joint appeal to the federal and regional governments, academia and business (the Stuttgarter Appeal). They demand a “more international approach to education, training and personnel policy.“ The appeal resulted from a symposium held by these organisations on February 8-9, 1999.

November 24, 1999

A new charter is approved at a members’ general meeting and a new presidium is voted in under the president Ulrich Cartellieri and executive vice president Immo Stabreit. The executive steering committee is replaced by the executive board. Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer gave a speech on fundamental questions of German foreign policy.

March 2000

The first issue of INTERNATIONALE POLITIK – Transatlantic Edition, the English edition of the DGAP’s journal, is released.

November 6-7, 2000

DGAP and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs (Harvard University) organise an international conference on international energy security and regional instability. Experts from the USA, Great Britain, Russia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Norway and Germany take part.

January 2001

The internet portal weltpolitik.net goes online. It is composed of the sections “Policy Forum”, “Regions” and “Subject Areas”. The Policy Forum provides information on particular current international relations issues with expert analysis and position papers from the actors. Under “Regions” the visitor can find information on the politics, economics and society of select countries whereas information on particular topics of international relations can be found under Subject Areas.

May 6, 2001

Israel’s foreign minister, Shimon Peres, gives a talk on the Middle East predicament and the peace process.

May 14, 2001

The author Mario Vargas Llosa speaks about globalisation and local cultures and addresses the question of whether globalisation produces a global American culture.

May 15, 2001

The chair of Deutsche Post, Klaus Zumwinkel, gives a speech on shipping and logistics under the conditions of globalisation.

June 18, 2001

The former SED top official Günter Schabowski lectures in Haus der Geschichte, Bonn on the foreign policy of the SED caught between Gorbachev’s reforms and the politics of the Federal Republic.

September 3, 2001

A joint seminar is held with the Shanghai Institute for International Studies on “China and Europe:Two Global Actors in a Globalised World". Topics include the modernisation of China, changes in Peking’s foreign policy and bilateral relations between the EU and China.

September 13, 2001

Hartmut Mehdorn, head of Deutsche Bahn, gives a talk on Kyoto, mobility and environment: the role of German rail in transportation policy of the 21st century.

September 26, 2001

At a joint event hosted with the East Committee of German Businesses and the German-Russian forum, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin speaks in Essen on economic development in Russian and perspectives for German-Russian economic relations.

October 16, 2001

With the Institute for German Studies of Birmingham University and the Royal Institute of International Affairs (London) DGAP organises a conference on foreign policy decision-making processes in Great Britain and Germany. Impetus for the conference was given by the release of the book Germany’s New Foreign Policy – Decision Making in an Interdependent World.

December 5, 2001

Hans-Dietrich Genscher becomes DGAP's new president.

March 14, 2002

A speech is given by Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s interim leader, entitled, “The Situation in Afghanistan – Perspectives of Reconstruction”.

March 20, 2002

Michail Chodorkowskij, head of Yukos oil company, talks about energy as a factor driving change in Russia’s economic policy.

April 10, 2002

The president of China, Jiang Zemin, gives a talk under the heading: “Together for a new century of peace and prosperity”.

June 4, 2002

The DGAP’s research institute and the Institut français des relations internationales (ifri) in Paris arrange a bilateral Conference on European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). Participants discuss structural and financial obstacles to building a European defence and the relationship between ESDP and NATO.

October 23, 2002

Abdullah II bin al-Hussein, king of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, gives a speech on Jordan’s role in the Middle East.

February 17, 2003

The leading politician of the opposition, in Ukraine’s national-liberal camp, Julia Timoschenko, gives a talk about ways out of Ukraine’s isolation and economic crisis.

April 1, 2003

Sabine Rosenbladt, previously editor of Die Woche, takes over Angelika Volle's post as editor-in-chief of INTERNATIONALE POLITIK.

June 2003

Upon the resignation of the Otto Wolff-Director of the research institute, Karl Kaiser, an international conference is held: America’s Changing Role in the World – Implications for World Order and Transatlantic Relations. Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer gives the keynote speech on the conference’s eve. Participants from the USA, Canada, Russia, Japan, China, Indonesia and many European countries take part, including Zbigniew Brzezinski, Graham Allison, Stanley Hoffmann, David Calleo, Helmut Sonnenfeldt, Henry Nau, Stephen Szabo, Martin Feldstein, Guido Goldman, Cesare Merlini, Thierry de Montbrial, Stefano Silvestri, Jusuf Wanandi, Yuan Ming, ZEIT-editor Josef Joffe and the former Polish defence minister Janusz Onyszkiewicz.

July 1, 2003

Pakistan’s president, General Pervez Musharraf, visits DGAP.

August 1, 2003

The new Otto Wolff-Director of the research institute isEberhard Sandschneider (of Free University of Berlin).

November 13, 2003

Alfred Freiherr von Oppenheimbecomes the new president of DGAP.

January 29, 2004

The victor of the “rose” revolution in Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, discusses his future home affairs and foreign policy with members of DGAP.

January 5, 2005

DGAP’s president Alfred Freiherr von Oppenheim dies unexpectedly at the age of 71.

January 12, 2005

Arend Oetker, Sabine Rosenbladt and Roland Gerschermann, director of the Frankfurter Societät publishing company, introduce the redesigned IP (INTERNATIONALE POLITIK).

Janaury 31, 2005

Werner Weidenfeld resigns as editor of IP. The DGAP decides to bring out the magazine directly.

February 3, 2005

The new president of DGAP is Arend Oetker.

March 17, 2005

Nigeria’s President, H.E. Chief Olusegung Obasanjo, gives a speech on “Nigeria: A Strong Emerging Economy”.

March 17, 2005

At the invitation of the Körber-Zentrum, Sergej Mironow, the speaker of Russia’s Federation Council, lectures on dialogue between Russian business and parliament.

March 23, 2005

The first “Fireplace talks” with Eberhard Sandschneider and other analysts from the research institute are held. The talks give DGAP members the opportunity to discuss current foreign policy topics with the research institute's associates.

June 3, 2005

DGAP's 50th year is celebrated at the Berlin Philharmonic. Arend Oetker and President Horst Köhler praise DGAP's role as a critical attendant of German foreign policy.

June 14, 2005

Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl speaks at a memorial for the scholar involved in German-French relations, Joseph Rovan, who died in 2004. The event was organised by DGAP’s France programme, the

Gesellschaft für übernationale Zusammenarbeit (GÜZ) and the magazine Dokumente.

July 25, 2005

Shimon Peres, the deputy prime minister of Israel, gives a lecture entitled “The Redeployment from Gaza and its Implications for the Middle East”.

August 1, 2005

Lectures are held for the 30th anniversary of the signing of the CSCE Helsinki Final Act. Hans-Dietrich Genscher, and Dmitri Rupel, head of the OSCE and foreign minister of Slovenia, as well as the leader of the FDP fraction,Wolfgang Gerhardt, speak about the historical importance of the CSCE Final Act and the future role of the OSCE – the succeeding organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

October 12, 2005

In Bonn’s Haus der Geschichte, the State Secretary from the Foreign Office Georg A. Boomgaarden speaks at an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of DGAP.

November 2005

The International Forum on Strategic Thinking is founded.The forum aims to support the next generation, especially by helping young leaders both in and outside Europe to build lasting networks, which can be utilized to address global challenges. It was in this vein that the annual DGAP Summer School for university students was created.

January 12-13, 2006

»The United States, Germany and Europe: Building a Global Agenda« conference is held in Washington, D.C. The DGAP and the American Council on Germany (ACG) organize a conference for exchange between American and German decision-makers on important challenges lying ahead. Topics like the future of the transatlantic alliance, globalization, and the question of a common energy strategy stood at the forefront. The highlight was provided by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s speech on January 12. The speech, which was held for the conference attendees at the German ambassador’s residence, was Merkel’s first public appearance in the United States as Chancellor.

January 13, 2006

Conference, »German Security Architecture in View of New Threats - Perspectives on the Need for Action« (Prelude to the Comprehensive State Security series) takes place.Taking part are, among others, Minister of the Interior Jörg Schönbohm, Brandenburg; Rudolf Adam, president of the Federal College of Security Studies; Christoph Unger, president of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance; Klaus Jansen, head of the Coalition of German Detectives; Matthias G. Fischer, research assistant with the chair for public law and modern legal history of Erfurt University.

January 25-29, 2006  

Second Central Europe Forum Budapest – History’s Presence. The political timeliness of historical reminiscence in Central Europe. For four days in Budapest, 30 young social scientists, journalists, and prospective leaders in civil and diplomatic service from 14 Central European countries discussed the extent to which historical legacies and their instrumentalization influence politics and political rhetoric in Central Europe. In the process, five multinational and interdisciplinary work groups examined the roles played by the state’s treatment of history, societies’ sense of the past and its presentation in the media, as well as scholarly study and review of history.

February 2, 2006

Republic of Georgia’s president, Michail Saakashvili, speaks about the domestic and international political priorities of Georgian politics. One of the country’s most important intentions is to join NATO in just a few years. Saakashvili expressed his hope that his country could count on Germany’s support in this effort as well as with the conflicts surrounding Abkhazia and South Ossetia.He views his country as a factor for stability in the eastern Caspian region, a country gaining in economic and energy-security importance. According to Saakashvili Georgia after the Rose Revolutionsubscribes to liberal values and therefore has more political and economic similarities with central European states than with its neighbors in the Caucasus.

Febuary 15, 2006

Viktor Ivanov speaks about the strategic partnership between Russia and the European Union.

Victor Ivanov, an important advisor to the Russian president, advocates continuing the strategic partnership between Russia and the EU in the »four common areas« at an event held by the DGAP’s Körber Center Russia/CIS. According to the colonel general Ivanov, who coordinates the Common Territory for Internal Security and Law, success stories can be seen in areas such as border control, combating international criminality and international terrorism, illegal migration, and eliminating visa barriers. Ivanov reported on the reforms of the Russian legal system and efforts to align Russian legal space with European standards.

February 16, 2006

Nicola Sarkozy, French interior minister and governing UMP party leader, explains his European policy at an event hosted by the DGAP and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The enlarged Europe needs a new motor, a role that the six largest member states seem best able to fill. German-French cooperation needs to be both maintained and incorporated into this group. Sarkozy emphasizes that he supported the European Constitution although it will not come into force in its current form. As a way out, he suggested three steps. First, immediate implementation of those institutional reforms from the constitution that do not require a new treaty. Next, by 2008 a new, shorter treaty that includes wider reforms should be negotiated. In the third phase, after the next European Parliament election, a new larger convent should address further key topics. Sarkozy stressed that the EU should not welcome any new members until progress can be seen in deepening the Union.

March 24, 2006

International Experts Conference on Migration and Security ishosted together with World Policy Institute in New York and the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin. The conference initiated an international network on migration and security, within which a much-needed policy-oriented analysis of the connections between the two topics will be analyzed. The project brings together analysts and policy-makers from business, politics, and the media, initially from the USA, India, France, and Germany. The Berlin conference was financially supported by the American Embassy, the German Marshall fund, Arnhold & S. Bleichroeder, and the MacArthur Foundation.

March 28, 2006

Panel discussion entitled »Analysis of the Ukrainian Election: Will Ukraine remain on a Western Course?« takes place. Discussants are Alexander Tschalyi, former deputy foreign minister of Ukraine and vice president of the Industrial-Group consortium, andKlaus Mangold, chair of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations.

April 24, 2006

BiDok moves. The DGAP’s library and documentation center’ reading room moves from the Hans von Dohnanyi-hall to the Otto Wolf-room. BiDok’s on-hand resources are now located in the Reinhold Würth-room, formerly the office of the executive vice president.

April 26, 2006

S.E. Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, speaks on Pakistan’s role in working toward peace and stability in Asia.

April 26–May 1, 2006

First DGAP Member journey in the Europe Train 2006. The first member journey in the Europe Train passes through Germany, the Check Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland. The Europe Train is a joint project of the DGAP (Central Europe Program), the Edith Stein Society Breslau, and MitOst (an association for language and cultural exchange in central, eastern, and south-eastern Europe). 50 young applicants from the countries visited on the journey were chosen and carried out various European projects during the journey – often in cooperation with people at the locations. Along a stretch of 3500 kilometers, 15 DGAP members and the other passengers traveled from Berlin through Budweis to Linz, Maribor, Pécs, and Kassa (Košice). They continued on to Cracow and Zgorzelec before returning to Berlin. The projects were realized at the different locations in conjunction with Europe festivals.

May 1, 2006

The new DGAP website goes online. The new DGAP homepage offers clearly arranged information with a renewed design.

May 2006

The 2003/2004 Yearbook is released. The Internationale Politik Yearbook can now look back on a fifty-year history. In 2006, the 25th edition of the biannual journal was published. In each issue contains one or two focus fields in which relevant global political developments are examined. In addition, the yearbook contains analyses of global political challenges and contributions on the most important figures of global politics, in particular, states and international organizations.

July 9–22, 2006

10th International Summer School in session. 25 students from 23 countries enrolled in the 10th annual DGAP Summer School, running under the title »Global Challenges, Global Actors – Sharing Responsibility for a Secure World«. Participants discussed current international security challenges in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East with leading experts in the areas. Following introductory lectures on topics such as security-sector reform, terrorism, energy politics, and failed states, they examined regionally specific challenges and developed policy papers with concrete policy recommendations.

August 28, 2006

DGAP hosts Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Accompanied by heavy security precautions Tzipi Livni, vice prime minister and foreign minister of Israel, visits the DGAP. Livni speaks on the current conflicts in the Middle East, particularly the war in Lebanon, and the challenges these pose to Israel and the international community. Following the lecture, she patiently answered questions from members and the press.

September 12, 2006

The Alfred von Oppenheim Center for European Studies opens. At the event Arend Oetker, DGAP President, and Eberhard Sandschneider remark that the center’s opening marks the completion of the DGAP’s modernization process. John Hulsman, the first Alfred von Oppenheim scholar, presents the goal »Building Transatlantic Cooperation toward the Middle East«. Christopher von Oppenheim, the greatest supporter of the center, comments approvingly on Hulsman’s remarks, noting that with such ideas the Oppenheim Center will contribute significantly to political debate in and on Europe.

October 17, 2006

The DGAPforum Munich is founded in the HighLightTowers of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, followed by a lecture from Georg Boomgaarden, state secretary in the Federal Foreign Office, on the topic of Germany, Europe, and the Middle East.

November 8, 2006

European policy speech by Chancellor Angela Merkel, »The European Union’s Role on the World Stage«. In her first speech at the DGAP the Chancellor underscores the shared values of the EU states. These values must form the basis of the urgently needed common policies of the soon-to-be 27 states. The EU needs to present a unified front externally. She demonstrated how important common action is using four central topics of her EU-Presidential programs: the Common Foreign and Security Policy, trade policy, climate protection, and energy policy. In conclusion, Merkel wished much success for the Alfred von Oppenheim Center.

November 23, 2006

Yulia Timoshenko, former prime minister of Ukraine, speaks on Ukraine and energy security for Europe. A large crowd came at the invitation of the DGAP’s Körber Center Russian/Eurasia program to listen to Ms. Timoshenko. Following an introduction from German parliamentarian Hans-Ulrich Klose, the Ukrainian politician from the opposition party spoke about the economic and political situation of her country and in particular about European energy supplies.

November 27, 2006

Prime Minister A.T. Dlamini of the Kingdom of Swaziland delivers a speech entitled »Cotton, Coal and Copper – Swaziland’s Position in Global Economy«.

December 8, 2006

Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble addressed the attendees at the conclusion of the lecture series Comprehensive State Security, offering the German government’s perspective. He explains the progress made in developing Germany’s security network. In the second half of the concluding conference parliament members Jürgen Herrmann (Christian Democratic Party), Klaus Uwe Benneter (Social Democratic Party), Elke Hoff (Liberal Party), Silke Stokar von Neuforn (Green Party) und Petra Pau (Socialist/Left Party) debated the conflict between civil rights and security.