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 - 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
Executive Team
- Andrew Gilmour
Executive Director - Sven Arndt
Director of Administration - Beatrix Austin
Head of Department, Conflict Transformation Research - Janel Galvanek
Head of Department, Regional Peace Support - Uli Jäger
Head of Department, Global Learning for Conflict Transformation - Carolin Poeschke
Chief of Staff, Executive Office - Shirin Reuvers
Head of Strategic Partnerships - Oliver Wils
Head of Department, Middle East and North Africa
Expanded Executive Team
The Expanded Executive Team is comprised of the Executive Team and the following staff members:
- Mandana Afshar
Innovation Specialist - Natalie Baharav
Head of Communications - Véronique Dudouet
Senior Advisor, Conflict Transformation Research - Anne Kruck
Advisor, Global Learning for Conflict Transformation - Elisabeth Meyer
Strategic Partnerships Manager - Sonja Neuweiler
Senior Advisor, Middle East and North Africa - Luxshi Vimalarajah
Senior Advisor, Mediation and Development
Key documents
- Our Articles of Association (EN) / Unser Gesellschaftsvertrag (DE)
- Berghof Foundation, Strategic Priorities 2022-25
- Latest annual report, including financials and latest auditors' statement
- Privacy policy (for website)
- Impressum (for website)
