German Council on Foreign Relations

The German Council on Foreign Relations, known in German as the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik and commonly abbreviated DGAP, is an independent, private, non-partisan, non-profit foreign-policy research institute based in Berlin. It was established in Bonn in 1955, during the early years of the Federal Republic, with institutional models that included the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and Chatham House in London. The organization was founded under the presidency of Günther Henle, a CDU politician, diplomat, and entrepreneur, and was created to encourage informed discussion of Germany’s international role and to connect scholarly analysis with practical policy work. DGAP presents itself as a demand-driven think tank. Its activities are directed at political decision-makers, public administrators, business leaders, civil-society organizations, military and security professionals, journalists, and the wider public. Its work includes research projects, policy papers, expert analysis, conferences, closed study groups, public events, briefings, and documentation services. Rather than operating as a government body, it seeks to influence foreign-policy debate from outside the state while maintaining relationships with public institutions and other organizations involved in international affairs. The institute’s substantive agenda covers German foreign policy, European integration, transatlantic relations, international security, geopolitics, economic and technological change, and relations with major world regions and powers. It also contributes to wider European policy networks and has participated in initiatives such as the EU-Russia Forum. Its publishing activities include the bimonthly foreign-policy journal Internationale Politik, the Jahrbuch Internationale Politik, research-institute publications, and shorter policy-oriented outputs. Its library and documentation functions provide specialized information and research support. DGAP has hosted or engaged prominent political figures and international officials, including Angela Merkel, Christine Lagarde, Ali Akbar Salehi, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Paolo Gentiloni, Volodymyr Groysman, Nikos Kotzias, and Nirmala Sitharaman. Its historical membership and leadership have included senior German political figures such as Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Richard von Weizsäcker, Klaus von Dohnanyi, Volker Rühe, Rudolf Scharping, Rita Süssmuth, Günter Verheugen, and Theodor Waigel. The organization moved from Bonn to Berlin in 1999, reflecting Berlin’s renewed centrality in German national and foreign-policy affairs. Its Berlin headquarters is housed in a former Yugoslav embassy building in the Tiergarten diplomatic district, designed by Werner March and constructed in 1938. DGAP is financed through membership contributions, project funding, sponsorships, and patronage. Publicly identified supporters and funders have included Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, Deutsche Bank, Airbus, the Robert Bosch Foundation, and the Open Society Foundations. These funding relationships coexist with DGAP’s stated institutional independence and non-partisan status. DGAP remains an active participant in German and European foreign-policy discourse. Its profile has also brought exposure to geopolitical pressure and cyber risk. Microsoft reported in 2019 that employees of the institute had been targeted in cyberattacks conducted between September and December 2018, attacks attributed to the Strontium group. In spring 2025, Russia designated DGAP an undesirable organization, a measure that restricted its ability to operate normally in Russia and reflected the increasingly confrontational environment surrounding European foreign-policy institutions.

The German Council on Foreign Relations was founded in 1955 in Bonn as a registered association known in German as the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik. Its creation reflected the Federal Republic’s postwar need for institutions capable of supporting informed discussion about Germany’s international position, European integration, security, and relations with allied and rival states. The organizational model drew substantially on established foreign-policy institutions in the English-speaking world, particularly the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and Chatham House in London. Günther Henle, a CDU politician, diplomat, and entrepreneur, became the organization’s first president. During its Bonn period, DGAP occupied several premises before acquiring the former House of Craftsmen complex at Adenauerallee 131a, including Villa Adenauerallee 131. That property became the institute’s first purpose-specific headquarters and served as its main base from April 1966 until the move to Berlin. The villa later became associated with the organization’s visual identity. The institute developed as an independent, private, non-partisan, and non-profit body rather than as a formal arm of the German government. Its mission combined research with practical policy engagement. DGAP built a platform for conferences, study groups, and public events; produced policy-oriented analysis; maintained specialist library and documentation resources; and published foreign-policy material for decision-makers and the broader public. Its journal Internationale Politik became a central publication, complemented by the Jahrbuch Internationale Politik and research outputs. The organization’s presidencies have included figures from German politics, diplomacy, business, and public life. Hans-Dietrich Genscher, a former foreign minister, served as president from 2001 to 2003. Arend Oetker held the presidency from 2005 to 2019, followed by Tom Enders from 2019 onward. The directorate has likewise moved between academic, policy, and institutional leadership, with Karl Kaiser holding the position for three decades from 1973 to 2003. Later directors included Eberhard Sandschneider, Daniela Schwarzer, Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, Guntram Wolff, and Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff. DGAP relocated its headquarters from Bonn to Berlin in 1999. The move placed it closer to the federal government, parliament, diplomatic missions, media, and other foreign-policy institutions in the capital. Its Berlin premises are in a building designed by Werner March and erected in 1938 as the Yugoslav embassy. After passing through several uses between 1941 and 1995, the building was sold by the Land of Berlin to DGAP. It is situated in the Tiergarten embassy district. Over time, DGAP expanded its international profile through research, events, publications, and high-level engagement. Guests and speakers have included German and foreign political leaders, central-bank and economic-policy figures, and senior representatives of governments from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The institute has also participated in European civil-society and policy networks, including the European Movement Germany, and has been among the organizers of the EU-Russia Forum. Its funding model consists of membership fees, project funds, sponsorships, and patron contributions. Publicly identified supporters have included the Federal Foreign Office, Deutsche Bank, Airbus, the Robert Bosch Foundation, and the Open Society Foundations. DGAP describes itself as independent despite these institutional and project relationships, with its non-partisan identity intended to allow engagement across Germany’s political spectrum. The institute has also been affected by the strategic tensions it studies. Microsoft reported in 2019 that cyberattacks had targeted DGAP employees between September and December 2018; the attacks were believed to have originated with Strontium. In spring 2025, Russia designated DGAP an undesirable organization. The designation illustrates the political sensitivity of foreign-policy research and advocacy organizations operating amid deteriorating relations between Russia and Germany and between Russia and Western institutions more broadly. DGAP continues to operate as a Berlin-based foreign-policy research and dialogue institution.

• 2025

  Russia designates DGAP an undesirable organization

  [1]German Council on Foreign Relationsen.wikipedia.org

  Russian authorities place DGAP on the country’s undesirable-organizations list.

• 2019

  Tom Enders becomes president

  [1]German Council on Foreign Relationsen.wikipedia.org

  Tom Enders succeeds Arend Oetker as president of DGAP.

• 1999

  Headquarters move from Bonn to Berlin

  [1]German Council on Foreign Relationsen.wikipedia.org

  DGAP relocates to the German capital and takes up residence in a former Yugoslav embassy building in Berlin-Tiergarten.

• 1973

  Karl Kaiser begins long directorship

  [1]German Council on Foreign Relationsen.wikipedia.org

  Karl Kaiser becomes director, beginning a tenure that continues until 2003.

• 1966

  Bonn headquarters opens at Adenauerallee

  [1]German Council on Foreign Relationsen.wikipedia.org

  DGAP begins using the acquired House of Craftsmen and Villa Adenauerallee complex as its principal headquarters.

• 1955

  DGAP is founded in Bonn

  [1]German Council on Foreign Relationsen.wikipedia.org

  The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik is established as an independent registered association, with Günther Henle as its first president.

An independent, practical, non-partisan German foreign-policy think tank that connects academic research, policy advice, and elite public debate.

• Foreign-policy journal

  Internationale Politik

  A bimonthly German foreign-policy journal published by DGAP. It provides analysis and debate on contemporary international affairs, German foreign policy, European politics, security, and global geopolitical developments.

• Yearbook

  Jahrbuch Internationale Politik

  A DGAP foreign-policy yearbook that complements the institute’s periodic journal and research publications with broader analysis and documentation of international-policy developments.

• Policy research

  DGAP research publications

  Research reports, policy papers, analyses, and expert contributions produced by DGAP fellows and research programs. These publications are intended to translate scholarly work into usable insight for government, business, civil society, and the public.

• Policy dialogue

  Conferences and study groups

  DGAP convenes conferences, closed study groups, public events, and discussions with senior political, diplomatic, economic, and academic figures. These forums are designed to support exchange between policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders.

• Research support

  Library and documentation services

  The institute provides specialized library, documentation, and information resources supporting research into German foreign policy and international relations.

• 2025

  Russia’s undesirable-organization designation

  Russia declared DGAP an undesirable organization in spring 2025, subjecting the institute to restrictions under Russian law and signaling official hostility toward its activities.

  Source

• 2019

  Cyberattacks targeting DGAP employees

  Microsoft disclosed that employees of DGAP had been targeted in cyberattacks conducted between September and December 2018. The activity was believed to have originated with Strontium, a group associated with Russia by Microsoft.

  Source

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• EU-Russia Forum

  European Union · Russia

  DGAP has been among the organizations involved in the EU-Russia Forum, a policy-dialogue initiative focused on relations between the European Union and Russia.

  Source
• High-level foreign-policy dialogue

  Germany · International

  DGAP’s conferences and public events have featured senior guests including Angela Merkel, Christine Lagarde, Ali Akbar Salehi, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Paolo Gentiloni, Volodymyr Groysman, Nikos Kotzias, and Nirmala Sitharaman.

  Source

• 2019

  Leadership transition to Tom EndersOther

  Background

  Arend Oetker had served as president since 2005.

  Action taken

  Tom Enders became president of DGAP.

  Aftermath

  The presidency continued to combine the institute’s foreign-policy mission with leadership drawn from Germany’s political, business, and international-policy establishment.

  Source

• 1999

  Relocation from Bonn to BerlinStrategy

  Background

  The federal capital had moved to Berlin, increasing the city’s importance as a center of German government, diplomacy, media, and foreign-policy debate.

  Action taken

  DGAP transferred its headquarters from Bonn to Berlin and occupied a former Yugoslav embassy building in the Tiergarten diplomatic district.

  Aftermath

  The relocation brought the institute closer to national political institutions and international diplomatic networks.

  Source

1. 1German Council on Foreign Relationsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2German Council on Foreign Relations official websitedgap.org