Federal Academy for Security Policy

Federal Academy for Security Policy (Military academy)
Formation	1992
Headquarters	Berlin, Germany
Membership	•  Stefan Quandt •  Günter Bannas •  Agnieszka Brugger •  Gertrud Casel •  Fritz Felgentreu •  Tanja Gönner •  Florian Hahn •  Matthias Heimer •  Claudia Kemfert •  Markus Kerber •  Roderich Kiesewetter •  Joachim Krause •  Carlo Masala •  Sönke Neitzel •  Beate Neuss •  . Thomas Paulsen •  Stefan Schmittmann •  Daniela Schwarzer •  Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann •  Patrick Sensburg •  Armgard von Reden •  Eva M. Welskop-Deffaa •  Almut Wieland-Karimi •  Bettina Wiesmann
"Acceptance of Germany’s security policy by the general public is a vital element of security itself. The intensified public debate on security issues requires competent executive personnel within the government, the business sector, the scientific community and the media who are able to take the necessary lead in the formation of opinion.”

The Federal Academy for Security Policy (BAKS) is the Federal Republic of Germany’s interministerial institution for advanced studies, education and training in security policy in the remit of the Federal Ministry of Defence. It has its seat in a complex of buildings on the premises of Schönhausen Palace in Berlin-Niederschönhausen, which was built in the 1950s for the former East German Government.

Tasks and objectives

The Federal Academy for Security Policy is responsible for providing comprehensive advanced training beyond ministerial bounds for current and future executive personnel both from federal and state institutions and from private sectors of relevance to security policy. It covers all areas of security policy and government and personal action. It is also responsible for establishing a network between the above groups of people. The Federal Academy for Security Policy sees itself as a forum for discussing security policy interests and in this function it supports Germany’s role within the international community and international organisations of all kinds, with the objective of establishing a consensus in security policy issues.

The core event of the academy’s programme is its annual six-month Senior Course on Security Policy which is attended by about thirty people from federal and states ministries, the business sector and the scientific community. It is sometimes also attended by people from foreign ministries and supranational organisations.

History

In the mid-1980s, debate arose about the establishment of a national training institution for discussing and disseminating information on security policy issues similar to institutes that already existed in other countries (such as the National Defense University in Washington, the Institut des Hautes Etudes de Défense Nationale in Paris or the Royal College of Defence Studies in London).

In the summer of 1987, the Federal Security Council for the first time discussed the possibility of establishing such an institution and formulated the following fundamental requirements:

• “Germany’s many and varied international commitments raise the need for professionally trained executive personnel who are capable of representing national interests effectively at international level.”
• “This requires security policy and a general strategy to extend beyond the bounds of the ministries and be based on a common understanding of national German interests.”
• “Acceptance of Germany’s security policy by the general public is a vital element of security itself. The intensified public debate on security issues requires competent executive personnel within the government, the business sector, the scientific community and the media who are able to take the necessary lead in the formation of opinion.”
• “The wish for increased cooperation on security issues with our European allies demands German officials and officers to undergo international standard preparatory training at national level.”

An interministerial committee then addressed the issue and recommended the establishment of an appropriate institution for meeting these fundamental requirements. In 1988, the Federal Security Council endorsed the recommendation of the committee and commissioned it to draw up a curriculum for the institution, which was approved by the committee in the summer of 1989.

In February 1990, the Federal Security Council approved the curriculum, deciding to establish an institution within the remit of the Federal Ministry of Defence. In the summer of that year, the Federal Cabinet agreed on the establishment of the Federal Academy for Security Policy and the Federal Security Council was to form the Board of Trustees of the academy.

The academy began its work in 1992, its first president being Admiral (ret.) Dieter Wellershoff, at its temporary home, the “Rosenburg” in Bonn. At the same time, an advisory board was established to assist the academy in its work, primarily by issuing recommendations regarding its curriculum.

On the recommendation of the Advisory Board and the academy, the Board of Trustees in 2002 decided to permanently relocate the institution to Berlin. Following extensive building and restoration work, the college moved into its new building on the premises of Schönhausen Palace in Berlin Pankow in March 2004.

Since March 2004, the Federal Academy for Security Policy has been located in its own complex, featuring auditoriums, conference rooms and offices, nestled in the park of the premises of Schönhausen Palace in Berlin Pankow.

Council

The members of the Advisory Board are appointed for a period of three year, and contains some interesting connections to the deep state, including to theOpen Society Foundations. On October 16, 2018, the Advisory Board includes:

• Günter Bannas – former Head, Capital Office of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
• Agnieszka Brugger , MdB, Alliance 90/The Greens
• Gertrud Casel – former Managing Director, Exposure and Dialogue Programs
• Dr Fritz Felsentreu, MdB, SPD
• Tanja Gönner – Spokesperson of the Board, German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) GmbH
• Florian Hahn, MP, CSU
• Matthias Heimer – Military Dean General,Head of the Evangelical Church Office for the German Armed Forces
• Prof. Dr. Claudia Kemfert – Head of the Energy, Transport, Environment Department, German Institute for Economic Research; Professor of Energy Economics and Sustainability, Hertie School of Governance
• dr Markus Kerber– State Secretary, Interior Ministry
• Roderich Kiesewetter , MdB, [[CDU]
• Walter Kolbow – Former Parliamentary State Secretary, SPD
• Prof. Emeritus dr Joachim Krause – Director, Institute for Security Policy, University of Kiel
• Prof. Dr. Carlo Masala – Professor of International Politics, Bundeswehr University, Munich
• Prof. Dr. Sönke Neitzel - Professor of Military History/Cultural History of Violence, University of Potsdam
• Prof. Dr. Beate Neuss – Deputy Chair, Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation eV; Professor of Political Science, Chemnitz University of Technology
• dr Thomas Paulsen – Member of the Board of Directors, Körber Foundation
• dr Stefan Schmittmann – Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Commerzbank AG
• dr Daniela Schwarzer - Executive Director, Europe and Eurasia, Open Society Foundations
• dr Marie Agnes Strack Zimmermann , MdB, FDP
• Prof. Dr. Patrick Sensburg , MdB, CDU - President, Association of Reservists of the German Federal Armed Forces
• dr Armgard von Reden - Chair Woman in International Security Germany (WIIS)
• Eva M. Welskop-Deffaa - Board member for social and specialist policy, German Caritas Association; Ministerial Director aD
• dr Almut Wieland-Karimi – Director,Center for International Peace Operations
• Bettina Wiesmann , MP, CDU

 

Employee on Wikispooks

Employee	Job	Appointed	End
Hans Rühle	Coordinator	October 1988	October 1989

 

Known members

3 of the 24 of the members already have pages here:

Member	Description
Roderich Kiesewetter	Former Bundeswehr general staff officer turned politician
Joachim Krause
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann	German politician of the Free Democratic Party and proponent of a militarist foreign policy.

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