Berlin, August 31, 2026. Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff, who has decisively shaped and developed DGAP since he became Otto Wolff Director of the organization in 2024, is stepping down from this role for health reasons. He will remain with DGAP as a senior fellow in the Karl Kaiser Forum for Strategic Challenges where his writing will focus on transatlantic relations. “I am following my doctors’ advice by scaling back my responsibilities, but I hope to continue contributing to DGAP’s work in my role as a senior fellow,” says Kleine-Brockhoff.
Effective October 1, 2026, Dr. Kira Vinke and Dr. Patrick Keller will take over the leadership of DGAP. Having previously served as deputy research directors, they will now lead the DGAP Research Institute as co-directors of DGAP. Thus, Vinke and Keller will also become ex officio members of the DGAP Board – while retaining their leadership roles in the Center for Climate and Foreign Policy and the Center for Security and Defense, respectively.
Geraldine Schroeder, managing director of DGAP and a member of the DGAP Board, will now serve as spokesperson for that board. Martin Bialecki will remain a member of the DGAP Board in his capacity as editor-in-chief of the journal Internationale Politik.
Dr. Thomas Enders, DGAP president: “Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff has brought stability to DGAP during a difficult period and made significant strides forward. I am very grateful to him for this and extremely pleased that he wishes to remain connected to the organization. With the new co-directors, Kira Vinke and Patrick Keller, we are ushering in a generational transition at DGAP and will have two outstanding scholars and policy advisors at its helm. The revamped board led by Geraldine Schroeder has my full confidence for strongly positioning DGAP, not only during these highly challenging times in foreign policy.”
Naming Kira Vinke and Patrick Keller as co-directors is also a strategic move for DGAP to strengthen its Research Institute. Vinke, head of the Center for Climate and Foreign Policy, is a renowned expert and sought-after advisor on the security and geopolitical implications of climate change. She has extensive international field research experience in critically important regions such as South Asia and the Indo-Pacific. Keller, director of the Center for Security and Defense and former vice president of the Federal Academy for Security Policy (BAKS), has extensive experience in academia, consulting, politics, and industry. As co-directors with complementary areas of expertise, they will further develop DGAP’s research portfolio and continue to sharpen the Research Institute’s profile as a leading center for German foreign policy analysis.
