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
Member of the Board, International Crisis Group and European Endowment for Democracy, Berlin, Germany
Diana V. Chigas
Chair of the Strategy Committee
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA
Hilde Frafjord Johnson
Former Norwegian Minister of International Development, Oslo, Norway
Prof. Dr. Kjell-Åke Nordquist
University College Stockholm (UCS), Stockholm, Sweden
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
Partner ImpActRelation GmbH, 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
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
Staffan de Mistura
Former Head of UN in Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria; former Deputy Foreign Minister of Italy (Member of the Advisory Council until his current appointment as UN Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara)
Hannah Neumann
Member of the European Parliament
Omid Nouripour
Member of the German Bundestag, Co-leader of The Greens
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