Dr. Claudia Major

Dr. Claudia Major is GMF's senior vice president overseeing the organization’s transatlantic security and defense work, and an executive team member. Previously, Dr. Major was the director of the International Security Division at the German think tank Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) in Berlin.

Her research, advisory work, and publications focus on German, European and transatlantic security and defense policy, NATO, deterrence and nuclear (dis)order, defense industry, and the Franco-German relationship. Currently, she is particularly focused on therepercussions of Russia's war against Ukraine for Europe, the transatlantic relationship, and the nuclear order; options to end the war in Ukraine; and ways to ensure the long-term security of Europe and Ukraine.

Dr. Major previously held positions at the Center for Security Studies at the ETH Zurich, the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), the EU Institute for Security Studies (Paris), the NATO Department of the German Foreign Office, and Sciences Po Paris. She was and is a member of various committees, including the Advisory Board for Civilian Crisis Prevention of the German Federal Foreign Office (2010-2024) and the Advisory Board of the Federal Ministry of Defense on "leadership development and civic education" (lnnere Führung) (since 2023). She holds a diploma from the Free University of Berlin and Sciences Po Paris and a PhD from the University of Birmingham (UK).

She speaks fluent German, French, and English and basic Russian.

Dr. Major was made a knight in the French national order of merit (Chevalier dans l'Ordre National du Mérite) and received the Estonian Cross of Merit.

In 2025, she received the Honorary Mercator Professorship from the University of Duisburg-Essen, and in January 2026, Dr. Major received the Cross of Honor of the German Armed Forces in Gold (Ehrenkreuz der Bundeswehr in Gold).