Bergedorf Round Table
Encyclopedia
Unbound by political and economic agendas, the Körber Foundation with its international relations department in Berlin is committed to helping foster a better understanding of international politics. In confidential conferences and background talks, the foundation seeks to come up with fresh ideas and facilitate an open dialogue among foreign policy decision-makers, especially during periods of fierce political conflict. Today, the agenda is focused on key issues of European foreign policy in the Middle East and in Eastern Europe, Russia and the CIS
.
The foundation is pursuing this agenda with four formats:
, the Bergedorf Round Table is a confidential, two-day gathering with around thirty participants that is held three times a year. Since 1961 it has promoted international dialogue between the realms of politics, science, business and society and focuses today primarily on the dialogue between policy-makers, diplomats and experts in international relations. The participants have the opportunity to participate in confidential discussions that go beyond the constraints of everyday topicality. As of today, more than 2,000 politicians and experts – among them Pope John Paul II, Vladimir Putin
, Helmut Kohl
and Helmut Schmidt
– have participated at one or more of 139 Bergedorf Round Tables.
Except for short statements to kick-off the discussion, participants do not report prepared speeches, but intervene spontaneously. The discussions take place at venues where the topic under discussion is immediate and tangible. Participants come from Germany, other member states of the EU, from the US and from the region which is respectively concerned. Directly following the conference a short summary is sent to the participants and a number of selected foreign policy-makers. Every Bergedorf Round Table is published as a protocol in German and English. To ensure confidentiality, the participants will edit their contributions before publication.
, the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Chancellery, the Ministry of Defence, other agencies and selected think tanks.
, the Federal Chancellery, the Federal Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence and selected foreign embassies in Berlin. The Network's members, who are invited on the basis of personal recommendations, explore challenges facing European foreign policy. Once a month, they speak in confidential discussions with foreign politicians and advisors over dinner at the Körber Foundation's Berlin Office.
Once a year, the group takes a field trip to gain personal experience with focal points of international politics. Participants meet senior representatives of governments and international organizations, as well as people active on the ground – in peace-keeping missions, military structures, and major economic projects. Field trips were organised to Kosovo
and Belgrade
in 2005, to Georgia
(including Abkhazia
) in 2006 and to Iran in 2007.
, fmr. Foreign Minister, Afghanistan; Martti Ahtisaari
, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for Kosovo; Saud al-Faisal, Foreign Minister, Saudi Arabia; Ammar al-Hakim
, Vice President, Supreme Islamic Iraq Council; Walid al-Muallem, Foreign Minister of the Arab Republic of Syria; Egon Bahr
, fmr. Minister for Economic Cooperation, Germany; Édouard Balladur
, fmr. Prime Minister, France; Gela Bezhuashvili
, Foreign Minister, Georgia; Zbigniew Brzezinski
, fmr. National Security Adviser to the President of the U.S.; Ahmet Davutoglu
, Chief Advisor to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan; Shirin Ebadi
, Lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Iran; Benita Ferrero-Waldner
, European Commission; Joschka Fischer
, fmr. Foreign Minister, Germany; Daniel Fried
, Assistant Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State; Christoph Heusgen, National Security Advisor to the Chancellor, Germany; Toomas Hendrik Ilves
, President of the Republic of Estonia; Wolfgang Ischinger
, EU Representative at the Kosovo Status Talks; Viktor Ivanov, Policy Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation; Saeed Jalili
, Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs, Iran; Vuk Jeremić
, Foreign Minister, Serbia; Gilles Kepel
, Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris; Mohammad Khatami
, fmr. President, Iran; Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Duma Foreign Affairs Committee, Russia; Mikhail Margelov
, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Federation Council, Russia; Sergei N. Martinov, Foreign Minister, Belarus; Ernest May, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, United Arab Emirates; Henry A. Trey Obering III, Director, Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Air Force; Hassan Rohani, Member of the Supreme National Security Council and Expediency Council, Iran; Volker Rühe
, fmr. Minister of Defence of the Federal Republic of Germany; Mikheil Saakashvili
, President of Georgia; Paul W. Schroeder
, University of Illinois, Urbana; Rangin Dadfar Spanta
, Foreign Minister, Afghanistan; Fritz Stern
, Columbia University, New York; Borys Tarasyuk
, Foreign Minister, Ukraine; Kassymzhomart Tokaev, Foreign Minister, Kasachstan; Mitoji Yabunaka, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Japan; Sergei Yastrzhembsky, Special Representative for EU-related issues, Russia; Paweł Zalewski, Chairman of the Sejm Foreign Affairs Committee, Poland; Valdis Zatlers
, President of the Republic of Latvia
CIS
CIS usually refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, a modern political entity consisting of eleven former Soviet Union republics.The acronym CIS may also refer to:-Organizations:...
.
The foundation is pursuing this agenda with four formats:
- the Bergedorf Round Table,
- the Körber Dialogue Middle East,
- the Political Breakfasts and
- the Körber Network Foreign Policy.
The Bergedorf Round Table
Chaired by former German president Richard von WeizsäckerRichard von Weizsäcker
Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker , known as Richard von Weizsäcker, is a German politician . He served as Governing Mayor of West Berlin from 1981 to 1984, and as President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1984 to 1994...
, the Bergedorf Round Table is a confidential, two-day gathering with around thirty participants that is held three times a year. Since 1961 it has promoted international dialogue between the realms of politics, science, business and society and focuses today primarily on the dialogue between policy-makers, diplomats and experts in international relations. The participants have the opportunity to participate in confidential discussions that go beyond the constraints of everyday topicality. As of today, more than 2,000 politicians and experts – among them Pope John Paul II, Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, Helmut Kohl
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...
and Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt is a German Social Democratic politician who served as Chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Prior to becoming chancellor, he had served as Minister of Defence and Minister of Finance. He had also served briefly as Minister of Economics and as acting...
– have participated at one or more of 139 Bergedorf Round Tables.
Except for short statements to kick-off the discussion, participants do not report prepared speeches, but intervene spontaneously. The discussions take place at venues where the topic under discussion is immediate and tangible. Participants come from Germany, other member states of the EU, from the US and from the region which is respectively concerned. Directly following the conference a short summary is sent to the participants and a number of selected foreign policy-makers. Every Bergedorf Round Table is published as a protocol in German and English. To ensure confidentiality, the participants will edit their contributions before publication.
The Körber Dialogue Middle East
Three times a year, the Körber Dialogue Middle East provides a platform for multilateral discussions on topical issues of foreign and security policy in the Middle East. Around ten foreign policy experts from the EU, the US and the Middle East hold discussions in a confidential and informal atmosphere and formulate policy recommendations. The inclusion of Iranian representatives into these discussions is given particular importance. The conference venue is either Istanbul or Berlin.The Political Breakfasts
Political Breakfasts in Berlin are high-level and confidential background discussions which seek to help cultivate foreign policy discourse in the German capital. The speakers include presidents, foreign ministers and other high-level political officials from abroad. They have the opportunity to discuss issues with a small group of senior foreign policy decision makers from the BundestagBundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
, the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Chancellery, the Ministry of Defence, other agencies and selected think tanks.
The Körber Network Foreign Policy
Since 2005, the Körber Network Foreign Policy has regularly assembled a group of young foreign policy professionals from the German BundestagBundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
, the Federal Chancellery, the Federal Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence and selected foreign embassies in Berlin. The Network's members, who are invited on the basis of personal recommendations, explore challenges facing European foreign policy. Once a month, they speak in confidential discussions with foreign politicians and advisors over dinner at the Körber Foundation's Berlin Office.
Once a year, the group takes a field trip to gain personal experience with focal points of international politics. Participants meet senior representatives of governments and international organizations, as well as people active on the ground – in peace-keeping missions, military structures, and major economic projects. Field trips were organised to Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
and Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
in 2005, to Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
(including Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
) in 2006 and to Iran in 2007.
Selected guests at the Körber Foundation's activities since 2004
Abdullah AbdullahAbdullah Abdullah
Abdullah Abdullah is an Afghan politician and a doctor of medicine. He was an adviser and friend to Ahmad Shah Massoud, legendary anti-Taliban leader and commander known as the "Lion of Panjshir". After the fall of the Taliban regime, Dr. Abdullah served as Afghanistan's Foreign Minister from 2001...
, fmr. Foreign Minister, Afghanistan; Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari is a Finnish politician, the tenth President of Finland , Nobel Peace Prize laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work....
, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for Kosovo; Saud al-Faisal, Foreign Minister, Saudi Arabia; Ammar al-Hakim
Ammar al-Hakim
Sayyed Ammar al-Hakim is an Iraqi politician who leads the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, which was the largest party in Iraq's Council of Representatives from the 2003 Invasion of Iraq until the 2010 Iraqi elections....
, Vice President, Supreme Islamic Iraq Council; Walid al-Muallem, Foreign Minister of the Arab Republic of Syria; Egon Bahr
Egon Bahr
Egon Karl-Heinz Bahr is a German SPD politician.The former journalist was the creator of the "Ostpolitik" promoted by West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, for whom he served as Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office from 1969 until 1972...
, fmr. Minister for Economic Cooperation, Germany; Édouard Balladur
Édouard Balladur
Édouard Balladur is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 29 March 1993 to 10 May 1995.-Biography:Balladur was born in İzmir, Turkey, to an Armenian Catholic family with five children and long-standing ties to France...
, fmr. Prime Minister, France; Gela Bezhuashvili
Gela Bezhuashvili
Gela Bezhuashvili is a Georgian politician and the current head of the Georgian Intelligence Service since February 1, 2008...
, Foreign Minister, Georgia; Zbigniew Brzezinski
Zbigniew Brzezinski
Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzezinski is a Polish American political scientist, geostrategist, and statesman who served as United States National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981....
, fmr. National Security Adviser to the President of the U.S.; Ahmet Davutoglu
Ahmet Davutoglu
Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu is a Turkish political scientist, an academic and an ambassador. On May 1, 2009, he was named Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey after being the chief advisor to the Prime Minister of Republic of Turkey.-Life and career:...
, Chief Advisor to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan; Shirin Ebadi
Shirin Ebadi
Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian lawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. On 10 October 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially women's,...
, Lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Iran; Benita Ferrero-Waldner
Benita Ferrero-Waldner
Dr. Benita Ferrero-Waldner is an Austrian diplomat and politician, and a member of the conservative Austrian People's Party . Ferrero-Waldner served as the Foreign Minister of Austria 2000–2004 and was the candidate of the Austrian People's Party in the Austrian presidential election, 2004, which...
, European Commission; Joschka Fischer
Joschka Fischer
Joseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer is a German politician of the Alliance '90/The Greens. He served as Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany in the cabinet of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005...
, fmr. Foreign Minister, Germany; Daniel Fried
Daniel Fried
Daniel Fried is a senior career diplomat of the United States who carries the rank of Ambassador. He is presently serving as a Special Envoy to facilitate the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp located in Cuba. Previously, he was the top U.S. diplomat in Europe, and prior to that he was...
, Assistant Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State; Christoph Heusgen, National Security Advisor to the Chancellor, Germany; Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Toomas Hendrik Ilves is the fourth and current President of Estonia. He is a former diplomat and journalist, was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the 1990s and later a member of the European Parliament...
, President of the Republic of Estonia; Wolfgang Ischinger
Wolfgang Ischinger
Wolfgang Friedrich Ischinger is a German diplomat. He was Germany's ambassador to the Court of St. James's from 2006 to May, 2008...
, EU Representative at the Kosovo Status Talks; Viktor Ivanov, Policy Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation; Saeed Jalili
Saeed Jalili
Saeed Jalili, is an Iranian politician and the present secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. On October 20, 2007, he replaced Ali Larijani as the secretary of the council and hence chief nuclear negotiator of Iran...
, Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs, Iran; Vuk Jeremić
Vuk Jeremic
Vuk Jeremić is a Serbian politician and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Government of Serbia. He was sworn in on May 15, 2007 and reelected on July 7, 2008.-Education:Jeremić was born in Belgrade in 1975 to Miško Jeremić and Sena Buljubašić...
, Foreign Minister, Serbia; Gilles Kepel
Gilles Kepel
Gilles Kepel is a French political scientist, specialist of the Islam and contemporary Arab world. He is Professor at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris and member of the Institut Universitaire de France....
, Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris; Mohammad Khatami
Mohammad Khatami
Sayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
, fmr. President, Iran; Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Duma Foreign Affairs Committee, Russia; Mikhail Margelov
Mikhail Margelov
Mikhail Vitalievich Margelov , the current Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council of Russia. He is a member of the United Russia party and has represented the Pskov region in the Federation Council since December 2000...
, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Federation Council, Russia; Sergei N. Martinov, Foreign Minister, Belarus; Ernest May, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, United Arab Emirates; Henry A. Trey Obering III, Director, Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Air Force; Hassan Rohani, Member of the Supreme National Security Council and Expediency Council, Iran; Volker Rühe
Volker Rühe
Volker Rühe is a German politician affiliated with the CDU. He served as German Defence minister from April 1, 1992, succeeding Gerhard Stoltenberg during the first government of a reunified Germany in the fourth cabinet of Chancellor Kohl, to the end of the fifth Kohl Cabinet on October 27, 1998...
, fmr. Minister of Defence of the Federal Republic of Germany; Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian politician, the third and current President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party.Involved in the national politics since 1995, Saakashvili became president on 25 January 2004 after President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in a November 2003...
, President of Georgia; Paul W. Schroeder
Paul W. Schroeder
Paul W. Schroeder is an American historian and professor emeritus of history at the University of Illinois, specializing in the late sixteenth- to twentieth-century European international politics, Central Europe, and the theory of history...
, University of Illinois, Urbana; Rangin Dadfar Spanta
Rangin Dadfar Spanta
Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta was the foreign minister of Afghanistan.He was appointed to that position by Hamid Karzai during a cabinet reshuffle on March 21, 2006 and approved by the 249-seat lower house on April 20, 2006. He was previously the Senior Advisor on International Affairs to President...
, Foreign Minister, Afghanistan; Fritz Stern
Fritz Stern
Fritz Richard Stern is a German-born American historian of German history, Jewish history, and historiography. He is a University Professor Emeritus and a former provost at New York's Columbia University...
, Columbia University, New York; Borys Tarasyuk
Borys Tarasyuk
Borys Ivanovych Tarasyuk is a Ukrainian politician. He has twice served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. He is from Zhytomyr Oblast. Tarasyuk studied international relations and international law at National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv, and graduated in 1975...
, Foreign Minister, Ukraine; Kassymzhomart Tokaev, Foreign Minister, Kasachstan; Mitoji Yabunaka, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Japan; Sergei Yastrzhembsky, Special Representative for EU-related issues, Russia; Paweł Zalewski, Chairman of the Sejm Foreign Affairs Committee, Poland; Valdis Zatlers
Valdis Zatlers
Valdis Zatlers is a Latvian politician and former physician who served as the seventh president of Latvia from 2007 to 2011. He won the Latvian presidential election of 31 May 2007...
, President of the Republic of Latvia
External links
- Bergedorf Round Table
- Körber Foundation
- Körber AG
- Kurt A. Körber in Wikipedia.de