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Leadership and governance

The Berghof Foundation is a Germany-based not-for-profit organisation. The Executive Director heads the staff, and reports to a Board of Trustees. Find more about our leadership and governance below.


Strategic priorities 2022-25

While continuing to work in our three main fields of activity – Practice, Learning and Research – the Berghof Foundation is also responding to a shifting global context.

Our current focal areas:
  • Mediation and negotiation support
  • Dialogue approaches and facilitation
  • Inclusion and participation
  • Peace education
Our emerging thematic areas:
  • Climate change and conflict transformation
  • Engaging with protest movements to strengthen nonviolent strategies
  • Inclusive governance and accountability to mitigate corruption and other economic drivers of conflict
  • Digital revolution and its impact on our work
  • Dealing with the past in conflict transformation
  • The role of women and gender in conflict transformation and mediation

Learn more about our current focal and emerging thematic areas for the coming three years.

Board of Trustees

  • Johannes Zundel
    Chair of the Board of Trustees, Tübingen, Germany
  • Sandra Breka
    Vice President & COO at Open Society Foundations
    Member of the Board, International Crisis Group and European Endowment for Democracy, Berlin, Germany
  • Hilde Frafjord Johnson
    Former Norwegian Minister of International Development, Oslo, Norway
  • Nickolay E. Mladenov
    Director General of the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy (AGDA)
  • Neha Sanghrajka
    Senior Conflict Sensitivity Advisor, UNOPS
    Fellow and Senior Advisor at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy
  • Prof. Dr. Dieter Senghaas
    Bremen, Germany
  • Dr. Christian Sundermann
    Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee
    State Secretary in non-active service, Berlin, Germany
  • Dr. Mathias Terheggen

    Head Partnerships & Philanthropy, ETH Foundation, Zurich, Switzerland

Advisory Council

  • Baroness Valerie Amos
    Former UK Secretary of State for International Development; former UN Emergency Relief Coordinator; Master of University College, Oxford
  • Günther Baechler
    Former Head of Swisspeace; former Ambassador of Switzerland
  • Caspar von Blomberg
    Head, Public and Social Sector, Egon Zehnder
  • Jeff Feltman
    Former US Assistant Secretary of State; former UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs
  • Jürgen Hardt
    Member of the German Bundestag
  • Lamya Kaddor
    Member of the German Bundestag
  • Kyung-wha Kang
    Former Foreign Minister of Korea; former UN Under-Secretary-General
  • Monica McWilliams
    Former Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission; author of Stand Up Speak Out
  • Hannah Neumann
    Member of the European Parliament
  • Aydan Özoğuz
    Vice-President of the German Bundestag
  • Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein
    Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; President and CEO of International Peace Institute, New York
  • Alex Rondos
    Former Special Advisor to Prime Minister of Greece; former EU Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa

Executive Team

Explore our organisation's structure in our organigram.

Key documents