Biography

Karsten D. Voigt (© Stefan Maria Rother)

Karsten D. Voigt has been the Coordinator of German-North American Cooperation at the German Federal Foreign Office since January of 1999.

He majored in history and in German and Scandinavian studies at the Universities of Hamburg, Copenhagen and Frankfurt. Mr. Voigt became actively engaged in politics at an early age. In post-war times, he accompanied witnesses during the Auschwitz trial proceedings and took part in the Anti-Vietnam war demonstrations. From 1969 until 1973, he served as Chairman of the German Young Socialists Organization. From 1984 until 1995, he was a member of the Executive Committee of the German Social Democratic Party and from 1985-94, member of the Executive Committee of the Party of European Socialists. From 1976-98, he served as a Member of the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) for the Social Democrats (SPD). From 1977-98 he also served as a Member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, of which he was President between 1994 and 1996.

Mr. Voigt's expertise is in the fields of foreign policy and security. From 1983-98, he was foreign policy spokesman of the SPD parliamentary group. Among his numerous other positions held, he is member of the Board of Directors of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin, sits on the Board of the Aspen Institute Berlin as well as on the Advisory Board of the Center for German and European Studies of the University of Minnesota. He is also a member of the International Scientific Advisory Board of the Allied Museum Berlin.