Jan Techau Joins GMF as Director of Europe Program

BERLIN  – The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is pleased to announce that Jan Techau will join the organization as Director of the Europe Program and Senior Fellow on January 2, 2018. In this role, Techau will lead GMF’s research and convening on Europe’s democracy, security, and cohesion, as well as Europe’s evolving role on the world stage. Techau will be based in GMF’s Berlin office.

Techau comes to GMF from the American Academy in Berlin where he was the director of the Richard C. Holbrooke Forum for the Study of Diplomacy and Governance. Earlier, Techau led Carnegie Europe, the European operation of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His work at Carnegie Europe focused on EU integration and foreign policy, transatlantic affairs, and German foreign and security policy.

GMF’s Europe Program is integral to the organization’s mission of strengthening the transatlantic relationship. Techau’s expertise in the policy and politics of both the EU and Germany, the continent’s largest economy, positions him to guide GMF’s efforts to support a strong, stable Europe in the context of the transatlantic relationship.

“I am delighted to have Jan joining the GMF team,” said GMF President Karen Donfried.  “At a time, when Europe is grappling with the rise of nationalism and populism as political forces, the threat of terror, Brexit, and significant migration, thoughtful analysis resulting in effective policy solutions is more important than ever for Europe’s internal cohesion and global influence.  Jan’s expertise makes him the ideal person to lead GMF’s efforts to contribute meaningfully to the debate about Europe’s future.”

Before joining Carnegie, Techau served at NATO’s Defense College as well as at the German Ministry of Defense.  Earlier in his career, he was the director of the Alfred von Oppenheim Center for European Policy Studies at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin. His latest book, published in German and coauthored with Leon Mangasarian, analyzes Germany’s foreign policy leadership (“Führungsmacht Deutschland - Strategie ohne Angst und Anmaßung”).